PeaceBang

Killing Off the Independent Affiliate Organizations of the UUA: PeaceBang Finally Yaps Her Flap

When the UUA board decided to KO the Independent Affiliate Organizations last year, I kept my blogging mouth closed about it. I beefed about it with colleagues and laypeople, and I recognize that a residual bit of fall-out was that I did not enthusiastically participate in the UUA’s big “NOW IS THE TIME” campaign. My laypeople were as lukewarm as I — mostly wondering how, exactly, all this money would be spent in a way that would undeniably strengthen Unitarian Universalist life — and we folded in “NOW IS THE TIME” with our regularly scheduled General Assembly service, declining to make it a special worship service. This decision, and our skepticism about the specific goals and vision of NOW IS THE TIME may have drastically limited the amount of money my unusually generous congregation raised for the effort.

(I am always offended to the ends of my hair when any UUA organization expects congregations to have a special “Something Sunday” to promote a cause or program and take up an offering. First of all, we have a liturgical tradition to respect and although we are committed to thematic worship, we are not committed to Theme Sundays, which are too often as inauthentic and contrived as theme parks. “This and That Sunday” smacks of boosterism and presumes that the worshiping congregation is a captive audience to be exploited for the purpose of “education” — as in “you need to be ‘educated’ about our pet issue/organization so that we can pry open your wallets”– as opposed to ministered unto and challenged to become more conscious and responsible human beings in general. It is for the local church to decide when and shall it is worthy to take up a special offering for the relief of suffering people or for the support of organizations deemed worthy by a trusted committee of the congregation charged to discern such things. When appeals for “Give Me Money” Sundays come to us in the mail, my Worship Chair and I gnash our teeth and then promptly relegate them to the recycling bin.)

I was personally disgusted by the dissolution of the Independent Affiliate Organizations. It seemed a lazy, unnecessary, ignorant and cavalier decision by the UUA board. I have not said so in public until now. Today, however, I received a letter from an esteemed elder colleague who has eloquently put into words what I would like to now endorse with my own, “TELL IT, Brother!” With his permission, here is the Rev. Dick Fewkes’ letter to the UUA leadership about his distress regarding their decision, and his own subsequent decision to refrain from sending financial support to 25 Beacon Street in the future.

Dear Bill,

This is to let you know why I have decided I can no longer make any more
personal contributions to the UUA. The reason is because of my deep and intense
disapproval of the UUA Board action to remove Independent Affiliate Status from
the overwhelming majority of such organizations. Among others I am a member of the UU Christian Fellowship, the UU Buddhist Fellowship, the UU’s For Jewish
Awareness, the UU Psi Symposium (of which I am President), the UU Historical
Society, the UU Retired Ministers & Partners Association, plus I have been a
supporter of Project Harvest Hope, Uniquest, UU Women and Religion, UUs for
Ethical Treatment of Animals, and UUs for Justice in the Middle East.

It hardly needs to be noted that these fine IA organizations have provided
programs, guidance and inspiration for hundreds of individual UUs as well as to
countless UU churches, congregational leaders, educators, ministers and GA
delegates for so very many years. More than a hundred and sixty years ago
Theodore Parker complained to his fellow Unitarian colleagues that they had
struck his name out of their Almanac and asked him to resign from their Boston
Association because of disagreement over his theological views. I wonder what he
would think about the removal from the pages of our UUA Directory of any
reference to these former IA organizations and denial of their previous right to
sponsor lectures and programs at the General Assembly under their own auspices.

Moreover, their removal was based on an overemphasis of a few lines at the end
of our principles and purposes in the UUA By-Laws about “serving the needs of
member congregations”, while forgetting that the IA’s were the institutional and
organizational embodiments of the sources of our living tradition: words and
deeds of prophetic women and men—wisdom from the world’s religions—Jewish,
Christian, Humanist and Earth Centered teachings, etc.—all of them excellent
examples of “the religious pluralism which enriches and ennobles our faith.” It
seems that the UUA Board was “proof texting” one part of the principles and
purposes while ignoring the far greater significance of what many of us consider
the heart and soul of our multi-faith religious tradition. “That transcending
mystery and wonder” needs to be incarnated in specific UU related groups and
organizations in order for individual UU’s and our various member congregations
to be informed as to who we are and what we stand for in
our many forms of faith and ethical action. You have taken these sources of
faith away from us and denied us the right to be informed of their existence.

A bumper sticker slogan expresses my sentiments about this unfortunate action on
the part of the UUA Board: TO QUESTION IS THE ANSWER. I for one question the
right and authority and wisdom of the Board in taking this action without the
debate and approval of the General Assembly and its member churches and
delegates. [emphasis mine - PB] Moreover, I respectfully request that the Board seriously consider
reversing or rectifying its action so as to restore IA status (or something
comparable) to the organizations cited above. Not to do so is to forfeit my
financial support to a denomination and religious institution that I hold dear.

Sincerely,
The Rev. Richard M. Fewkes, Minister Emeritus, First Parish of Norwell, Mass.

Whither Independent Affiliates Of the UUA ?

There has been a lot of blogging about the demise of the Independent Affiliates of the UUA, much of it promoting the theory that the UUs for Polyamorous Awareness led the UUA board to call into question the entire IA program. In other words, since they had no clear criteria by which to deny the Polyamorists IA status, they put the kibosh on everyone.

That’s an interesting theory, but since I don’t know whether or not it’s true, I can only report that it’s “the word on the street.” It is also “the word on the street” that one large congregation threatened in no uncertain terms to disaffiliate from the UUA if the Polys were granted official IA status, so that may have had an influence. My sources on that latter bit of business are quite good. In other words, if this is gossip, it’s extremely widespread gossip throughout the association by now. As The Lively Tradition suggests, in the absence of transparency on this issue, those of us who care about the Independent Affiliates are left guessing, and that’s not good.

As one of our most esteemed elder statesmen asked at one of our IA events, “Since when does the UUA board consider it a big problem to have to communicate with groups?” He also said, “I remember a time when, if the Association began acting this much like a full-out denomination, we would have told them where to get off.”

I can tell you this: from what I’ve heard, and what I feel myself, UU Buddhists, Jews, Pagans, Humanists and Christians — all of whom have beloved, thriving Independent Affiliate groups, are hardly at all interested in becoming one big organization of UUs Who Still Care About Theology. Not even if they get a cute name like the BuddhiHumiChristiJewPas.

But geez, can you imagine the GA booth?
And the tee-shirt?

P.S.

To the person who asked why Christians “stay” in Unitarian Universalism, let me suggest two short answers:

1. Since Unitarianism and Universalism both have expicitly and exclusively Christian origins, your question seems a bit staggering to begin with. Those of us who care about, and have fallen in love with, the Unitarian and Universalist theological tradition have every reason to hope — and to expect– that those traditions might actually be known and honored in Unitarian Universalist congregations. Crazy, I know.

2. Some of us, myself included, were born and raised Unitarian Universalist. Why should we leave? Upwards of 90% of cradle UUs do leave, of course — is it the Association’s desire that more of us should go? Many UU Christians were actually raised UU, much to many people’s shock. Therefore, we don’t have the Christophobia that so many come-outers have, and furthermore, we actually believed it when the faith of our childhood taught us that we were free to follow the dicates of our conscience, religiously speaking.

What I LIKED About GA: All Dressed Up and Lookin’ Like Family

Since a few of you asked:

1. I loved Barbara Pescan and Carl Scovel’s 25 and 50 year sermon at Ministry Days. LOVED them.

2. I loved the UU Christian Fellowship Communion Service, for which I crafted the liturgy and co-officiated with Tom Schade, who gave a wonderful sermon. The best part was giving communion to so many people who come with tears in their eyes and such a deep hunger for this ancient ritual — a ritual that wasn’t designed to resemble an ancient ritual but actually IS one, that doesn’t carefully omit words and phrases that might offend, but that just retells a story that they know and can make their own and invites them to the table as they are, with all their doubts and translating, all their skepticism and all their frailty. Jesus doesn’t care about any of our doubts and linguistic gymnastics, he just wants us for the work of love and justice. As I said before, in an earlier post, we UUs tend to look at people and see victims. Jesus looks at people and sees disciples. It’s no wonder our Communion services get more and more crowded every year.

3. I loved the UUCF Hymn Sing on Saturday night. For the person who asked whether I feel especially nourished by my time with that group, the answer is an emphatic YES. I have been involved with the UUCF since I was an active Wiccan in seminary (yes, I once self-identified as a Transcendentalist Christian Witch! And only half-jokingly!) and have been held in the bosom of UUism through that group since then. I was on the UUCF board for a time, and take pride in having been one of the people who worked extremely hard to make our GA offerings better and bigger. I am also extremely proud to have been on the planning team for our first ever REVIVAL conference which was held in New Orleans in 1999. Back then, we had no idea what to expect and no idea who would show. As it turns out, close to 100 people came and we sang the old hymns without censoring any lyrics (trusting that everyone could deal with them in their own way, being people of inherent worth and dignity and all), prayed to and unapologetically praised God, had a healing service that was one of the most powerful experiences of my religious life in community (Thomas Mikelson preached and we offered laying on of hands in teams), and had an incredible time. REVIVAL conferences are now offered yearly in various cities and draw a healthy attendance each time, and often big name speakers. This year will be in Cleveland in November and will feature John Dominick Crossan.
I have published several articles in the “Good News” and have an essay in the collection Christian Voices in Unitarian Universalism, edited by UUCF board member Kathleen Rolenz.

4. I always cry at the banner parade, and I especially loved the music this year.

5. I loved seeing friends from all over the country, and hearing stories about congregations that are doing great things. I always learn the most from spending time with people one on one and picking their brains about what they’re doing and how it’s working.

6. I really enjoyed Meg Barnhouse and Doug Muder’s talk on spiritual writing, and loved being invited to sing Meg’s song “All Will Be Well” with her.

7. While Open Space Technology wasn’t really my thing, I could see that some people were getting a very positive experience out of it, and that was happy to see.

8. I loved knowing that two of my congregation’s delegates got great stuff from UU University, and I loved knowing that an excellent team from my church was out and about soaking up inspiration to bring home. They are relentlessly creative and upbeat when I am mopey, and I would have a very hard time attending GA if my peeps weren’t there.

9. I loved attending most of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee dinner and hearing about their projects, and I especially loved seeing one of my congregants win one of their three national representative awards. I was proud, mama!

10. It was fun to come in at the end of the Blogger Dinner and then to have very swanky drinks at a bar with Chalice Chick, Linguish Friend, Reverend Ricky, Chutney, Philocrites and Hafidha Sofia (Never Say Never To Your Traveling Self).

Speaking of which, here’s a wonderful moment from GA:

The aforementioned gang and I are walking down the streets of Portland finding our way to the next restaurant/bar and we come to a homeless shelter or mission house of some kind. There are folk sitting in the doorway and milling about on the street in front, and a police office is having a very unpleasant verbal exchange with a belligerent woman.
As I start to get through the small crowd, a tall, very skinny black man wearing a knit cap steps in front of me and blocks my way. Not threatening or anything; he just wants to get my attention. I look up at him and he says, in the most slow, snarky but affectionate drawl you can imagine:

“Well…. would you look at everyone all dressed up and LOOKIN’ LIKE FAMILY.”

And this becomes my favorite expression for GA. And maybe for church life in general.

All dressed up and LOOKIN LIKE FAMILY.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

How did I like GA this year?

Ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies.

Mostly exhausted and demoralized I make my way to the coast of Oregon to read, to rest, to pray, to plot, to feel it all, to give it all to God, and to breathe.

We had a wonderful Communion Service yesterday morning. I heard that some bloggers wrote about it but I don’t know where. If you did, and you said nice things, would you comment here? Thanks!

[This just in : Read Rev. Tony’s reflections here. - PB]

God bless you all on your travels home.

Peace.
Bang.

GA Blogger’s Dinner

So… who wants to organize the great Blogger’s Dinner at GA in Portland this year?

(I did it last year)

Blogger Picnic May 19th?

blogger picnic
Originally uploaded by Peacebang.

Philocrites asked a few weeks ago if we all wanted to plan a Boston Area Blogger’s Picnic.

We are welcome again at First Parish in Milton, and maybe if we pick a good date, it won’t POUR RAIN THIS YEAR!!

Does May 19th work for you?

Anti-Surge Protests

Faithful America.org has a list of protests all over the country. Here are the Boston-area ones, and I’m proud to see that Unitarian Universalist congregations feature prominently in the offerings:

http://tinyurl.com/yj92g5

I will be driving down to Providence becuase I have an appointment I can’t cancel at 4pm and won’t get into Boston in time. But Fausto, there’s one on the Common from 4-6.

REVIVAL And Healing Prayer

I just tumbled in the door from the Big Apple, where I spent the past few days with the UU Christian Fellowship REVIVAL conference.

I helped plan the 1999 conference in New Orleans, so it’s always exciting to see all the new faces at each subsequent REVIVAL — some coming from as far away as Nevada, California and even England. We don’t seem to get much repeat business from conference to conference, though, so I am interested to see how the UUCF (or maybe a new organization) will work to nurture a continuing sense of Christian fellowship, discipleship and spiritual practice among attendees. However revelatory it may be to be part of a weekend gathering of UUs who who pray unapologetically in the name of Jesus and who worship God, we must find more ways to encourage one another to spiritual growth and commitment. Small UUCF groups is one way to do that. Bi-annual retreats that focus on spiritual practice, worship and prayer may be another way.

It was nice to see Sue Spencer, who recently left the UU ministry to join a community of Episcopalian nuns, for an hour across the aisle at worship this morning. Bless you, Sue! You look happy!

Two highlights from REVIVAL for me were Chris Walton’s Taize service on Friday morning and the healing service led by Peter Boullata on Saturday evening. The first service I loved for its emphasis on music, and for the way that the liturgy moved, WITHOUT EXPLANATION, from one element to the next. Of course this takes careful preparation, and we were lucky to have Chris in charge of this service. Sometimes the liturgical elements that seem simplest require the most careful preparation.

Taize is such a wonderful antidote for that overly-talky UU way of worship, where we explain everything we’re doing before we do it (”Now we’re going to light the chalice.” “Now, we’re going to have a reading.” “Children, please come up to hear a story about Adam and Eve/Buddha and the Elephant/Batman and Robin”), making casual, chatty editorial comments throughout.
I’m guilty of this on occasion myself, although I do sincerely try to create a worship experience that isn’t so expository that it (1) kills the mystery and the movement of the Spirit and (2) insults the intelligence of people who have the Order of Service right in their hands.
I sometimes want to wear a button that says, “SILENCE IN WORSHIP IS OKAY!” And many times as I lead a service, I have to tell myself to resist the chatty, editorial comments, which are really a product of nerves, awkwardness with transitions I should have thought out well in advance, and discomfort with sacred ceremony. Sarcasm is the worst. When I make a sarcastic crack during worship, I’m miserable for days. Sarcasm has no place in worship. Warm, loving humor, yes. Hearty laughter, yes. Snark, never. NEV-AH!!

The healing service was particularly meaningful for me because back in 1999, I attended the healing service at the first REVIVAL and received my first laying on of hands. I remember when we planned that service over a conference call, and we were all like, “Whoa, this is going to be so RADICAL!” We knew that many UUs, hearing of it, would freak right on out along the lines of “What are they DOING!? Are they going to smack people on the head and have catchers who fall the people as they faint? What’s next? SPEAKING IN TONGUES?”
But of course you can’t really have a Christian spiritual life if you don’t deal with the fact that Jesus was a healer and that he preached a healing God. So we had ourselves a healing service, and it was monumental for me, and I suspect not just for me.

The Rev. Thomas Mikelson was the preacher that evening, and through one of the most heartfelt, extemporaneous sermons I’ve ever heard, he wrapped us in a warm intensity and sense of communal safety that opened up many of us and encouraged us to approach the altar for healing prayer. I had never done, or imagined doing, such a thing before. Like, please. But I went up to one of the prayer teams that night and when I was gently asked, “Is there something in particular you’d like us to pray about?” I choked out, “I’m so lonely, and I’m in so much pain.”

It was my second year in the parish ministry and I was desperately lonely, and I was suffering terribly through a very difficult and conflicted parish position. The thing is, I had no idea until that moment that I was that damaged and that deeply hurt. I had been working too hard to notice. Being prayed for — to participate in the irrational act of asking God to be present in my life as a healing spirit– was so nuts and so crazy full of love and faith, that it sliced through my intellectual defenses and opened me up to the possibility that the theological concept of God’s grace just might be a reality, even for me. I sobbed while two or three people prayed over me, and I’m sure my nose ran all over them, bless their hearts.

I walked away from that service feeling new-born, exposed but not vulnerable,and more grateful than I can ever acknowledge. I decided not to worry so much about what I believed or did not believe about God. What converted me to a dedicated Christian path was the sure evidence that this faith could lead people to behave in such a compassionate way as to make themselves vehicles for the Holy Spirit, whatever that meant. It no longer mattered what it meant. I had experienced it, for my minister’s heart was whole where it had been broken. I wanted to put myself under the authority of the same spiritual teacher who was inspiring those UUs at that conference. I was once and for all over my UU suspicion of all authority.

Later that weekend, I was baptized. I had planned to do it in advance, and it was a simple and lovely thing. The only lousy thing about being baptized is that I have to consider myself in the same spiritual family as all the Christians who, in my opinion, so thoroughly violate the whole meaning of the Christ event. Of course, they feel the same way about me, so there you have it. One of God’s big Ha ha’s.
“Ha ha, you kids, you have to work it out.”

It was very meaningful, therefore, to stand last night with the Rev. Kelly Murphy Mason on the steps of the 4th Universalist Church chancel and to be the one praying over others. It was a privilege, it was an honor.

Jim Mulholland, one of the speakers at the conference, writes,

“I am reminded of the story of a little boy who was afraid of the dark. He was afraid of the monsters he thought lived under his bed and in his closet. His parents would pray with him every evening and ask God to protect him, but he would always end up in their bed.
One night his father said, ‘You don’t have to be afraid. God will be here in your room with you.’
The little boy answered, ‘I was hoping for someone with skin.’”

(If Grace Is True: Why God Will Save Every Person, p. 145)

My friends in faith — whether Christian or not — are “God with skin” for me, and Jesus chief among them. God is incomprehensible, unfathomable, unnameable magnificent intensity. How can I know God? I never can. How can I speak to God in a way that makes sense? No way makes sense, so I talk to God in the human way, as that’s the only way I know. How can I experience God? As love, as has been made most abundantly manifest to me in my family, in my community of theatre friends and UUs, in my congregation, and in the UU Christian fellowship.

REVIVAL In NYC

Just a quick post from my cousin’s apartment in the Big Apple the eve before the NY Marathon.

We’ve had a wonderful weekend of worship, keynote speakers and prayer.

There’s a full moon over Central Park and the Upper West Side has, I’m afraid, offered too many opportunities for shopping!!

Peace. Bang.

I’ll be home tomorrow.

Thoughtfulness

Oh my HAY-vens! I just found out that 48 people are registered for the workshop I’m leading this Saturday, which means that I’d better prepare more thoroughly than I had planned to!

Things that can make your day: I got a card in the mail saying, “Thanks for agreeing to be a workshop leader. Get yourself a cup of joe or a bagel on the way to the conference.” And tucked inside the note was a $5 Dunkin Donuts gift card.

What a nice thing to do. Religious life runs on volunteer energy, and since ministers make our living “doing” religious life, we feel it’s our job to thank lay leaders, not to be thanked by them. That said, I must say that when life gets tough in the ministry, I take out my files of thank you cards and letters and re-read them, taking fuel for the heart from those tokens of appreciation. I have learned over time that gratitude is a very energy-generating thing. When someone takes the time to thank me, I get more energy. It’s like a little science experiment that works every time. When I make a decision to cultivate gratitude, I get more energy. Simple. Voila.

Parish ministers don’t just serve the parish, of course. We serve the larger movement and our communities, which means that in addition to our parish duties, we serve on denominational or inter-faith committees, we try to accept speaking engagements whenever we’re asked (and some of us are asked pretty frequently), we write articles and essays as requested for various publications, we attend conferences and spend many hours consulting with ordained lay and clergy leadership on a wide variety of issues, we participate in or attend ordinations and installations, we go to collegial gatherings. Much of this work is invisible to the folks in our parish, but I have come to respect the office of the clergy far more deeply over the years as I realize all that my colleagues in parish ministry do outside their own congregations.

Most of what we do outside the parish gets little or no thanks. Actually, let me amend that. Much of what we do outside the parish but within the Unitarian Universalist movement gets little or no thanks. It has been a bugaboo of mine over which I am known to scream and yell, earning a reputation as “that Loud-Mouthed Wench Who Keeps Yelling About Needing To Appreciate Each Other More.” I freely admit it. C’est moi.

So it was really lovely to open this card and get this appreciative “thumbs up” in the form of this card, and please don’t tell me that Dunkin Donuts is an evil corporation, because while it’s undoubtedly true, I am so using that gift card with no guilt, and with very warm feelings for the person who sent it. WELL played, madame.