The interdependent web at General Assembly

GA for those who don't go

Just because some bloggers can't go to Salt Lake City doesn't mean they aren't part of the Interdependent Web at General Assembly—and of course they vastly outnumber those who do! The Rev. Cynthia Landrum writes:

I'm sad that I can't be at General Assembly this year. I miss seeing my colleagues from other districts. I feel more out of touch with the latest ground-breaking events of our association and the newest books or creative thoughts. Every year I've missed I've planned to watch videos or live feeds of it, but I rarely do. Perhaps this year will be the first. They're certainly making virtual attendance at GA more possible. Hopefully soon we'll be able to vote from afar on more than just the president. ("Rev. Cyn," June 23)

GA is not just GA

Easily the most prolific blogger at GA so far is Kari Kopnick at "Chalice Spark." She is actively blogging GA, starting with pre-GA events and with a focus on LREDA, the professional organization for religious educators:

Quick, think of the longest, most boring meeting you've ever sat through. Now, double the length, but turn it around into a deeply meaningful, hilarious and wildly productive work session.

That's what today's LREDA Board meeting was like. Long. Deep, and a lot of fun. (June 22)

Spanish-language hymns and 'polyvocal dialogue'

The Rev. Ricky Hoyt was glad to hear about a new Spanish-language hymnal supplement: "This is a desperately needed resource in my Los Angeles congregation, and in our movement as a whole" ("One More Step," June 24).

Meanwhile, Paul Oakley reflects on a "polyvocal dialog" on the hymn "We'll Build a Land" during worship:

If every single hymn becomes part of some dialogic struggle, can we ever do anything without holding a series of workshops on it or, worse, killing it dead on the spot by positioning and explanation of every move we make rather than actually doing worship? And yet... dialog is certainly necessary. ("Inner Light, Radiant Life," June 25)

More perspectives

The Rev. Anthony Lorenzen is attending the Governance track of UU University ("Sunflower Chalice," June 26).

GA speaker Kate Clinton is featured on "Beacon Broadside" (June 26).

The UUA is using Twitter to write 140-character micro-reports on GA, and so are others.

UU World staff are posting photos to our Flickr stream.

And, of course, we also have our GA blog, written by UU World staff, and the UUA has a GA blog written by other UUA staff and volunteers.

Watching Iran, Father's Day, GA, and more

Iran's 'Green Revolution'

Several UU bloggers—the Rev. Victoria Weinstein ("PeaceBang"), Chalicechick ("The Chaliceblog"), the Rev. James Ford ("Monkey Mind"), and Bill Baar ("Pfarrer Streccius")—want to know why UUA President William G. Sinkford and the UUA's Washington Office haven't released any statements in support of the Iranian democratic reform movement, especially in light of Sinkford's controversial meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last fall. Meanwhile, Unitalian suggests that UUs express solidarity with the Bahai'i, a persecuted religious minority in Iran (June 21). And uuworld.org publishes a personal meditation by the Rev. Parisa Parsa, a UU minister who was born in Iran (June 22).

Pollster David W. Moore explains why we shouldn't trust a controversial pre-election poll in Iran that predicted Ahmadinejad would win ("Beacon Broadside," June 19). Military chaplain-in-training David Pyle comments on Iran and American exceptionalism ("Celestial Lands," June 21). The Rev. Gary Kowalski, author of a book about the liberalism of America's founding fathers, says that the Iranian protests have made him think about George Washington's legacy ("Revolutionary Spirits," June 21).

Joel Monka is impressed by how peaceful the Iranian protesters have been: "the property damage and blood in the streets of Tehran so far is less than you'd expect in an American city that just won an NBA championship" ("CUUMBAYA," June 20). The Rev. Tony Lorenzen wonders if Americans are just too comfortable to take to the streets to demand better health coverage ("Sunflower Chalice," June 22). Strange Attractor isn't sure how enthusiastically she should support the Iranian reformers: "These are not radicals or feminists in spite of Mousavi's impressive wife" (June 18).

Father's Day reflections

For Father's Day, Jeremey Adam Smith, author of the Beacon Press book The Daddy Shift, offers a guide to children's books featuring fathers as co-parents or primary caregivers ("Beacon Broadside," June 18). Jim Magaw writes, "My faith as a father is not a reflection of my parenting skills but is a reflection of my commitment to something outside myself" ("Word, Music and Meaning," June 19). The Rev. Victoria Weinstein, whose father died 26 years ago when she was in high school, writes:

Right now I just feel like I would literally give an arm to pick up the phone and hear my dad’s voice, have a conversation with him and meet him somewhere for a hug. Just to smell his coat lapels. To see his hands and feet. To know his face so well, still, that I wouldn’t even need to look closely at it. To walk on the beach with him and see his thinning hair get ruffled in the wind and to talk about all the things we used to talk about — mainly, about what kind of person I was going to be, what he saw in me and for me. He would have so much to say by now. We would just fall into step beside each other as we always did, and he would tell me how his perspective had changed as one of the ancestors. He would make everything clear for me. ("PeaceBang," June 21)

"Beacon Broadside" also publishes a moving personal essay about life-threatening pregnancies and the Buddhist teaching that life is suffering by Jeff Wilson, a Unitarian Universalist professor of religion and East Asian studies and occasional contributor to UU World (June 16). Wilson's article is adapted from an essay in a new Beacon Press anthology of writings for the web magazine Killing the Buddha.

As General Assembly approaches

Kim Hampton is wary of the UUA Fifth Principle Task Force's proposal to hold General Assemblies less often: "And as someone who doesn’t live on the east coast (where the majority of UUs of color are), it gets very lonely (and tiring) being one of maybe a couple of persons of color in the room. . . . The only time that there is a critical mass of people of color is at GA" ("East of Midnight," June 17).

Patrick Murfin offers "a guide for the unsuspecting UU delegate in an election year" ("Heretic, Rebel, a Thing to Flout," June 17). Worship is the best part of General Assembly, writes Kari Kopnick ("Chalice Spark," June 19). UU World is blogging General Assembly news and business ("General Assembly Blog"). UUA.org's coverage will include reports, blog posts, and streaming and archived video.

The Rev. Dan Harper is en route to Salt Lake City (by train!) for the UUA General Assembly, where he will be a volunteer with the UUA's web coverage team. On his personal blog he asks:

Will you be going to General Assembly this year? or do you have better ways to spend your hard-earned time and money than by going to some denominational meeting? Will you be following the online coverage of General Assembly? or will you be watching the Red Sox instead? And finally, do you believe General Assembly is worth the thousands of dollars the denomination spends on it each year? Discuss freely. ("Yet Another Unitarian Universalist," June 20)

Elsewhere this week

The Rev. James Ford buys a clergy shirt for the Pride parade ("Monkey Mind," June 17). The Rev. Victoria Weinstein returns from a long sabbatical in southern and eastern Europe and writes: "I see myself more clearly than [ever] as a participant in a middle class, desire/get/[consumer]-oriented, entitled, depressed and quite impoverished culture" ("PeaceBang," June 17). Plaidshoes explains why she calls her blog "Everyday Unitarian" rather than "Everyday Unitarian Universalist" (June 15).

Lizard Eater grew up UU, and so, she says, "I have a foot in each camp of the theist/humanist wings of our religion" ("The Journey," June 17). The Rev. Dan Harper proposes that the primary thing that has kept Unitarian Universalist congregations in business over the last forty years is their religious education programs for children ("Yet Another Unitarian Universalist," June 18).

Paul Oakley's new UU fellowship is working toward recognition as a GLBT "Welcoming Congregation," but is looking for resources to help them learn about transgender issues especially ("Inner Light, Radiant Life," June 18).

Pagan blogger Jason Pitzl-Waters writes about the neo-Nazi use of the Celtic cross as a racist symbol ("The Wild Hunt," June 15).

Jane Fonda, Obama's Sunday school, and Flower Communion

UU influences on Jane Fonda and Barack Obama?

The actress and political activist Jane Fonda, whose spiritual odyssey generated considerable commentary when she embraced evangelical Christianity in 2001, writes about her faith as a "work in progress" and credits the Rev. Forrest Church, a Unitarian Universalist minister, for the observation that "God is not God's name" ("Jane Fonda," June 10).

The conservative "American Thinker" blog tars President Barack Obama's support for U.S. veterans by describing the Unitarian Universalist church in Honolulu, where Obama attended Sunday school in the early '70s, as a sanctuary for military deserters (June 14).

Meanwhile, UU military chaplain-in-training David Pyle explains why he is reluctant to support congregational outreach to military veterans: "[M]any of our congregations are not ready to receive these veterans in the way they need to be received by a faith community" ("Celestial Lands," June 14).

Affirmation and judgment, Flower Communion, ministerial culture

In a long post about the UUA Principle that affirms and promotes "acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations," the Rev. Fred L. Hammond writes that this means "I cannot judge your experiences as false. I cannot joke about people reading 'Conversations with God' or 'The Secret' or 'The Tibetan Book of the Dead' or 'The Course in Miracles' or even 'The King James Bible red letter edition'" ("A Unitarian Universalist Minister in the South," June 12).

Elizabeth ponders how she could embrace a form of Christianity within the context of her Unitarian Universalism ("Elizabeth's Little Blog," June 13).

The UUA is collecting stories about how Unitarian Universalism has blessed people's lives (UUA.org, June 8).

Paul Oakley's four-year-old UU congregation holds its first Flower Communion, prompting thoughts about how UUs "do" ritual ("Inner Light, Radiant Light," June 9). The Rev. Andrew James Brown tries to avoid sentimentality in the Flower Communion at his congregation in Cambridge, England ("CAUTE," June 7).

Seminarian Erik Resley responds to the Rev. Kenneth Collier's UU World essay about integrating the ego and the spirit by observing, "We must also strive for connection with the more-than-human" ("Embodied Fragments," June 8).

The Rev. Tony Lorenzen examines UU "ministerial culture," and observes that the UUA provides very little guidance for would-be ministers. "People need pastoral care on this journey, but we as a religious association don’t provide it. Instead we have a bureaucratic process" ("Sunflower Chalice," June 12).

UUA presidential election commentary

The website of DRUUMM (Diverse Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries) posts four questions the organization posed to the two UUA presidential candidates and publishes the responses they received (June 5).

The Real Anonymous explains why she wishes the Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt were running for the UUA presidency ("It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere," June 12).

The Rev. Thomas Perchlik, responding to comments in several articles in the the Summer UU World, writes: "[E]ven if a candidate for the UUA Presidency tells us 'We are the religion for our time,' the fact is that most of us do not think we are a religion, but either a smorgasboard of religions, or something that enhances the flavor of religion cooked up somewhere else" (June 8).

UU responses to political violence

Sara Robinson, who has been writing about the apparently politically motivated murders of a Kansas abortion doctor and a black security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Museum, posts a letter to "Conservatives" that asks, "Are you deliberately trying to start a civil war?" ("Orcinus," June 11, 12).

Pondering UU reactions to right-wing violence, the Rev. Victoria Weinstein voices skepticism about the potential of reason to overcome hate: "I don’t believe—have never believed—that what will heal the world of hateful fundamentalisms is rationalism, but humility and reverence" ("PeaceBang," June 11).

The Rev. Mary Wellemeyer urges liberals to reach out to fearful and apocalyptically minded conservatives. "There is no way to tell how many degrees of separation there are between us in our liberal cocoons and them in their right-wing ones, but to have any hope at all of reaching the next potential shooter before he (or she) shoots, we have to move toward them with courage, love, patience, and hope" ("A Larger Faith," June 13).

Bill Baar, meanwhile, is keeping an eye on the tumult in Iran following the contested election for president ("Pfarrer Streccius").

Hunger strike, abortion rights, saving the world, and loving God?

It was a lively week in the UU blogosphere. Some highlights:

Bolivian hunger strike, water in the desert, marriage in N.H.

Olga Flores, a UU leader and human rights activist in Bolivia, is one month into a hunger strike protesting government disappearances in her country. "UU Without Borders," the blog of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists, posts an update from Flores and a letter from the Rev. Brian Kiely, president of the ICUU, extending his support (June 4; Spanish-language news coverage is here).

A volunteer with a humanitarian relief group sponsored by the UU Church of Tucson, Ariz., that provides water to undocumented migrants crossing the desert was convicted of littering June 3 ("No More Deaths!" June 4). The Rev. Chip Roush comments wryly, "Helping to save people, and cleaning up other peoples' trash...they must be stopped!" ("The Yes Church," June 5).

When the governor of New Hampshire signed same-sex marriage into law June 3, the Rev. Ricky Hoyt wrote, "I'm glad that our culture has evolved to the point where same-sex marriage in New Hampshire is so boring that it can be reported in a short article on page 14 [of the Los Angeles Times], but until the laws change to reflect the culture's growing acceptance—in 44 states and nationwide, we can't go to sleep on this subject yet" ("One More Step," June 4). Media critic Dan Kennedy observes that 4.9 percent of the U.S. population live in the six states that have legalized same-sex marriage. If New York and California follow suit, however, 21.7 percent of the country will live in pro-gay marriage states ("Media Nation," June 4).

Dr. George Tiller's murder and abortion rights

UUA President William G. Sinkford condemned the murder of Dr. George Tiller, who was one of only a handful of late-term abortion providers in the United States ("UUA.org," June 1). Tiller was shot to death while ushering at his Lutheran church. Orelia Busch from the UUA's Advocacy and Witness staff offers a prayer for Tiller ("Inspired Faith, Effective Action," June 1).

The Rev. Sam Trumbore writes, "I wish we could hear all the stories that Dr. Tiller heard because I think it would soften the hearts of those who protest at his doorstep" (June 2). (The online magazine Double X has been collecting stories of women who had late-term abortions.) Bill Baar objects to Trumbore's statement, "Life often doesn’t go as planned and pregnancies are the result," and writes: "There is a huge moral difference between a late term abortion to save a mother's life, and a late term abortion to resolve what Rev Trumbore calls those events in life that don't quite go as planned" ("Pfarrer Streccius," June 3).

Carole Joffe, author of Beacon Press's upcoming Dispatches from the Abortion Wars, writes: "In the abstract, late term abortions are understandably distasteful to many. When considered in the context of real women's lives, however, these procedures are essential" ("Beacon Broadside," June 4).

Ogre condemns Tiller's murderer: "If there's any justice for Tiller, it will be that people like Randall Terry and Bill O'Reilly have lives where they need someone like Tiller, and don't have him" ("Sparks in the Dark," June 1).

The Rev. Cynthia Landrum, who supports a woman's right to abortion, writes, "Part of me really does understand, I confess, the mindset that leads to things like the murder of Dr. Tiller this weekend" ("Rev. Cyn," June 2).

Army chaplain candidate David Pyle sees the shooters who killed Dr. Tiller and Pvt. William Long, an Army recruit who died in an attack on an Arkansas military recruiting station, as fundamentalists. "I don’t think the stated causes of these individuals are the real motivation for their action, just as I do not believe that the claimed religious views of most fundamentalists have anything to do with why they are fundamentalist" ("Celestial Lands," June 1). He also offers a definition of the fundamentalist mindset (June 3).

Jason Pitzl-Waters hosts a conversation about pagan views of abortion and women's reproductive choices ("The Wild Hunt," June 2).

Presidential endorsements and saving the world

Joel Monka was provoked by UUA trustee Linda Laskowski's endorsement of the Rev. Peter Morales for UUA president last week, and explains how her endorsement clarified why he's supporting the Rev. Dr. Laurel Hallman: "Religion isn't about changing the world; it's about changing the man in the mirror—if you can save him, the world will follow" ("CUUMBAYA," June 3). He follows up with a post on the failure of UU churches to address personal as well as social sin (June 3).

Seminary graduate Elizabeth, who is not endorsing a candidate, responds to Monka. She takes issue with Peter Morales's statement: "The old religions lead to tribalism, violence, suspicion, hatred, and oppression. We need a religion that transcends divisions, religion that unites enemies, religion that points to a new future that includes everyone." Elizabeth writes:

I often feel so frustrated at the sense that we (Unitarian Universalists) somehow have what the world needs—like, somehow Christianity or Islam or Buddhism isn’t cutting it. For me, it is that Unitarian Universalism is where I need to be. And I welcome others in joining me and my fellow Unitarian Universalists in the journey to try to do the hard work of love and justice. This is where I am, but it isn’t because other religions somehow aren’t good enough. ("Elizabeth's Little Blog," June 3)

Meanwhile, the Rev. Joseph Santos-Lyons endorses Peter Morales ("RadicalHapa.com Liberation and Mutuality," June 5). Lizard Eater endorsed Morales last week, but adds a story about the conversation she had with the candidate when they realized that each has a child who was diagnosed with cancer ("The Journey," June 4).

The Real Anonymous, however, writes that "neither one of [the candidates] sounds like they have a driving passion to be President," and so opts not to endorse either one ("It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere," June 5).

UUA trustee Linda Laskowski looks at the Board of Trustees' legal right to fire the UUA president—a topic that has come up in some discussions of the board's shift to Policy Governance—but she observes, "The thought that we would ever get to that point is inconceivable to me" ("UUA View from Berkeley," June 4).

Circus worship, surprised by 'The Shack,' and loving God?

The Rev. Victoria Weinstein posts a letter from a former UU who gave up after their congregation's Sunday services "had degenerated into a carnival-like atmosphere with antics such as guess the minister’s weight, someone turning cartwheels on the stage, and songs from the Rocky Horror Picture Show." The letter-writer continues:

Every week there [were] skits with people dressed in silly hats or animal costumes. One Sunday morning they had a belly dancer on stage. During one service members were invited to come up on stage and show off their tattoos. On a couple of Sundays, the minister tossed a beach ball into the audience and invited parishoners to bat it around during the service.

In response, other commenters discuss the merits of different styles of UU worship ("PeaceBang," June 5).

Lizard Eater launched a rich conversation by asking:

[H]ow would your church respond if someone said, "I love God"? Would they recoil? Giggle? Direct the person to the closest Unity or UCC church?

I thought about the phrase in terms of my own life. Would I personally say "I love God"? ("The Journey," June 1)

She follows up with a second question: "If you love God...would you admit it?" (June 1)

Terri notices that people in her congregation are slowing down as the church year comes to an end. She comments on the spiritual growth that small, lay-led services can still provide during the summer months: "It only takes a few gathered together to create a church—a place of personal salvation, a balm for the weariness of the soul—but it takes those few to be fully present" ("UU Intersections," June 2).

Diggitt, in a comment at "CUUMBAYA," responds to UU World's cover story on Unitarian Universalists in Africa:

Here is a group that almost denies the existence of homosexuality although it lives with AIDS on a daily basis, and which embraces polygamy. Yet we are considering an outreach to it because of its acceptance of the message of Universalism. I predict this will be a thorn in our side; the African Anglican communion has brought little joy to American Episcopalians or to Canterbury, for that matter. (June 3)

OD/HR Min, whose blog examines the process of UU ministerial formation, offers three recommendations for performance-based ministerial examinations ("Calling Ministers," June 3).

Religious education director Kari Kopnick reminisces about going to her first UUA General Assembly and LREDA Professional Days shortly after taking the job. "I swear I would have sat myself right down and cried big crocodile tears of surrender if not for my first General Assembly" ("Chalice Spark," June 3). 

Elsewhere: Rebecca Hecking mourns the death of environmental spirituality author Thomas Berry ("The Sustainable Soul," June 4). Lizard Eater is surprised by her reaction to the best-selling religious novel, The Shack ("The Journey," June 3). The Rev. Matt Tittle is writing every day for 60 days about "a moment of grace that I experienced the previous day" ("Keep the Faith," June 1). And furniture-maker Doug Stowe announces that one of his tables has been purchased by the Historic Arkansas Museum for its permanent collection ("Wisdom of the Hands," June 4).

Anti-choice terrorism, Unitarianism's first black minister, more

Doctor's murder, Prop 8 upheld, and White House visit

The Rev. Christine Robinson reacts to news of the murder May 31 of Dr. George Tiller, one of only three doctors in the U.S. who performed late-term abortions:

Most of these abortions are abortions of wanted, loved, even named babies, and they are caused by tragic circumstances. Nobody talks about them, few people defend them, fewer find a calling to provide them. When they happen they are tragedies, and the only good thing one can say about them is that because of late-term abortions, even greater tragedies are averted. ("iMinister," May 31)

Sara Robinson writes about Tiller's murder:

Tiller was one of just three doctors in the entire US who performed late-term abortions. Now, there are just two. Which means that 36 years of anti-choice terrorism is now just two assassinations away from completely ending late-term abortion in America. Violence has won out -- over the will of the people, over the courts, over the horrific logic of medical necessity. ("Orcinus," May 31)

The Rev. Lindi Ramsden, director of the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry, California, writes about her disappointment with the Supreme Court decision that upheld Proposition 8, which brought a halt to same-sex marriage in the state ("Inspired Faith, Effective Action," May 27). MassMarrier thinks it's time to reform many states' ballot initiative process, which he calls the "flamethrower of populism" ("Marry in Massachusetts," May 27).

The Rev. Ricky Hoyt, a UU minister in California who actively opposed Proposition 8, is glad the state Supreme Court didn't undo his marriage, but thinks the court made the correct legal decision: "It's not the court's job to change our culture; that's our job" ("One More Step," May 27). Joel Monka writes, "The only moral and ethical way to deal with this setback is to learn an important lesson from it: the Prop 8 supporters simply worked harder" ("CUUMBAYA," May 26).

Meanwhile, members of the UUA's Washington Office for Advocacy and Witness met with the White House Office of Public Engagement for the first time on May 27. Adam Gerhardstein writes about the conversation he and the Rev. Meg Riley had with associate director Paul Monteiro. "We began," Gerhardstein writes, "by clearly communicating our movement’s commitment to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender rights" ("Inspired Faith, Effective Action," May 28).

Parker's destructive legacy, Jackson's untold story, and more

Seminarian Lizard Eater endorses the Rev. Peter Morales for president of the UUA ("The Journey," May 26). The Rev. Kit Ketcham endorses the Rev. Dr. Laural Hallman ("Ms. Kitty's Saloon and Road Show," May 27). The Rev. Timothy Jensen also endorses Hallman ("The Eclectic Cleric," May 27).

The Rev. Mary Wellemeyer writes about trying to find an interim ministry position ("A Larger Faith," May 28). UUEnforcer, meanwhile, has been assembling a list of newly announced ministerial settlements ("The UU Enforcer").

The Rev. Timothy Jensen muses on the 19th-century Unitarian minister and abolitionist Theodore Parker's "destructive legacy" ("The Eclectic Cleric," May 28).

Fausto is also thinking about history. He writes about lists of famous Unitarians and Universalists:

They remind us of how influential past UUs once were in society at large, and they kinda sorta suggest that either we still could be, or at least still have the moral rectitude to deserve to be, today. . . . But a disturbing quality I find in UU hagiography is that it often revises the portraits of our saints to more closely resemble who we would have liked them to be than who they actually were. ("The Socinian," June 1)

And the Rev. Dan Harper has been researching the story of the Rev. William Jackson, who was the first African American minister to proclaim himself a Unitarian, in 1860. A series of posts digs into local archives to reveal more about Jackson and about his interactions with antebellum Unitarians ("Yet Another Unitarian Universalist," May 22, 26, 28, 31).

NM_Creatrix says Laura Pedersen's essay in the Summer UU World "expresses my feelings exactly" ("NM Creatrix," May 25).

Sci-fi without science, religion without orthodoxy, and bloggers at GA

The Rev. Timothy Jensen writes about visiting a parishioner in jail ("One Day Isle," May 18).

Pagan blogger and journalist Jason Pitzl-Waters defends Wicca's honor from a New York Times op-ed ("The Wild Hunt," May 19).

Logan Geen writes that each of us is a little bit orthodox, a little bit heretical ("The New Unitarian Universalist," May 19). The Rev. James Ford takes up a similar topic in a post about what defines a Buddhist ("Monkey Mind," May 19).

LaVerne Coan writes that, "deep in my gut, I see myself as a Christian," even though she disagrees with things that many people see as defining Christianity. She offers some Unitarian Universalist definitions of Christian belief instead ("Lifting the Spirit," May 22).

The Rev. Thomas Perchlik complains that there's not much science in the science-fiction blockbuster Star Trek: The Future Begins:

Unitarians and Unitarian Universalists have long valued integrity between science and religion. We have long insisted that supernatural ideas be taken with a grain of agnosticism and that science is of great value. Many of UUs have loved Star Trek shows because they blended science and religion in fun ways . . . Now a movie is made with no science at all. And we wonder why Kansas schools and others are trying to present religious ideas like Creationism (AKA “intelligent design”) as if they were good science! (May 20)

Steve Caldwell, meanwhile, challenges an unnamed UU theologian who had suggested that modern science is a form of faith ("Liberal Faith Development," May 23).

Rebecca Hecking marks Endangered Species Day and Memorial Day: "I cannot help but wonder how different things would be if we remembered the passing into extinction of so many fellow earth creatures with the same fervor that we remember our military" ("The Sustainable Soul," May 21).

Ginger Root celebrates her congregation's first Coming of Age program ("Carrots and Ginger," May 21).

Kari Kopnick is dismayed to learn that UU World will no longer be including the children's insert uu&me! ("Chalice Spark," May 21; see "From the Editor," UU World Summer 2009). Kopnick also writes about the demands of her job as a religious education director:

I have a job that is like a little glass of water. Have you ever accidentally spilled a small glass of water on the kitchen table? Isn't it amazing how that little bit of water SPREADS out so far and wide? Being a Religious Educator is like that. It could fit in a tidy small jelly jar, but if it spills out---whhhoooo boy, holy take-over-your-life Batman! ("Chalice Spark," May 23)

The Rev. Daniel O'Connell describes how his congregation is casting its 12 votes in the UUA presidential election next month ("UUA Politics," May 22). The Laural Hallman campaign, meanwhile, has set up a blog, although its contents are also published on the campaign's main website. (See UUA.org/elections for information about both candidates and voting guidelines for congregations.)

The Rev. Kit Ketcham comments about the draft Statement of Conscience on Peacemaking that the UUA General Assembly will consider in June: "We tend to disapprove of most war, but to proclaim ourselves a pacifist denomination would be a departure from what I think of as our primary mission, that of unity within diversity" ("Ms. Kitty's Saloon and Road Show," May 23).

Joel Monka is organizing UU bloggers who will be attending the UUA General Assembly in Salt Lake City in June ("CUUMBAYA," May 21).

Dan McKanan, Harvard Divinity School's first Ralph Waldo Emerson Unitarian Universalist Association Senior Lecturer in Divinity, delivered his first public lecture, "Unless a Seed Falls: Cultivating Liberal Institutions," on May 7. Watch the lecture here. Read an interview with McKanan.

Trust, liberal giving, and famous (Universalist!) photographer

Presidential endorsements and thoughts on governance

Tom Loughrey, the trustee from the UUA's Pacific Southwest District, endorses the Rev. Dr. Laurel Hallman for UUA president (May 14). Linda Laskowski, the trustee from the Pacific Central District, endorses the Rev. Peter Morales ("UUA View from Berkeley," May 15). The Rev. Daniel Harper, however, won't support either one ("Yet Another Unitarian Universalist," May 13). Learn more about the candidates at the UUA's 2009 Elections page and keep up with election-related conversation at the Election-L email list.

UUA Moderator Gini Courter posts a slideshow presentation on UU governance ("Just Gini," May 16).

UUA trustee Linda Laskowski responds to the Rev. Fred Hammond's charge, mentioned here last week, that the Board of Trustees' new "Global End" statement violates congregational polity ("UUA View from Berkeley," May 12).

The Rev. Scott Wells writes about the history and limitations of the idea of the "geographic parish"—that is, "that a church’s membership, leadership and scope of ministry is tied to a particular area." It's time, he says, for the UUA to recognize a broader definition of the church ("Boy in the Bands," May 17).

Trust, church disputes, why liberals give less, and more

When the Rev. Kit Ketcham's optometrist told her she needed emergency surgery on her retina the next day, "I had no choice but to trust and obey, if I wanted to save my vision. And when we are in that position, big important questions come up: does anyone care what's happening to me? can I really ask for help? if I ask, will anyone be willing to help? who will do what I can't do? will people resent my neediness? will I ever be the same again, able to help myself?" ("Ms. Kitty's Saloon and Road Show," May 16).

Seminarian Erik Resly briefly describes ten different depictions of Jesus from the New Testament. "When people tell me that they don't believe in Jesus," he writes, "I ask: which one? SImilarly, when people insist that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, I find myself wondering: which version?" ("Embodied Fragments," May 12).

The Rev. Mary Wellemeyer writes about the prevalence of ongoing disagreements within UU congregations, and links the phenomenon to the unusually high percentage of "intuitive" Myers-Briggs types among UUs ("A Larger Faith," May 11).

The Rev. Daniel Harper has been blogging about artists who have been members of his UU congregation in New Bedford, Mass., including the landscape photographer Charles Bierstadt (1819-1903) and the sculptor James C. Toatley (1941-1986) ("Yet Another Unitarian Universalist," May 14 and 17).

Joel Monka thinks Robert Brooks, the author of a book that found that liberals donate less to charity than conservatives, should not have been so suprised by his findings. After all, Monka argues, liberals and conservatives hold different notions of altruism: Liberals believe in "philanthropy by proxy" while conservatives believe in "personal giving" ("CUUMBAYA," May 12).

The Rev. Colin Bossen is leading a "Building Your Own Theology" class in his congregation. He posts his response to one assignment, his own list of ten ethical commandments ("The Latest Form of Infidelity," May 15).

UU World online columnist Doug Muder discusses his latest article, "Graduation Day," with readers at his blog ("Free and Responsible Search," May 11).

Blogging friends and enemies

Blogging friends Every 7th Day of "Auspicious Jots" and Lizard Eater of "The Journey," who have never met in person but who believe they are twins separated at birth, are vacationing together this week (May 11, May 12).

The Rev. Timothy Jensen urges his fellow UU bloggers to boycott Robin Edgar, a frequent commenter on UU blogs and a blogger who has been protesting the UU Church of Montreal for more than ten years and who has personally targeted Jensen and other UU clergy. "Stop linking to his site, publishing his comments, and allowing him to gain greater exposure for his slander and abuse than he can gather on his own!" Jensen writes ("The Eclectic Cleric," May 12; Montreal Mirror, June 4, 1998).