UU comfort, shared salvation, 'militant Unitarians,' and more

Comforted by Unitarian Universalism

Jacqueline at "Moxie Life" got Unitarian Universalist bloggers talking with her question, "How does being a Unitarian bring comfort during a time of crisis?" (March 7, 2008)

In response, UUMomma recounts the comfort she received from a friend at church after her father's death:

I got the phone call, from a woman at church who teaches my daughters and had heard from them about my dad. She'd skipped the service after RE and come home to fix us all a casserole. And when I got her phone call, I cried for the first time since hearing the news of my father's death. "Oh, yes," I remembered, "we do need to eat!" More than that, it was a visceral response to someone providing care to me, my family . . . (March 7, 2008)

Lizard Eater at "The Journey" describes how Unitarian Universalism helped her during her daughter's battle with cancer:

UU or Catholic or Jew, we all come to the same place: I can't understand why things like this happen.

Whether we say, "God understands the reason," or "No one understands, for there is no reason," the end result is the same. Understanding why may be beyond our human comprehension.

Unitarian Universalism, as a religion, gave me the comfort that the questions I struggled with were not new. I was merely one in a line of humanity who has wept and shook my fist and questioned. (March 7, 2008)

And Dubhlainn at "Druuid" lists some of the things that comfort him:

I find comfort in the generous mind and heart.
I find comfort in poetry and resolute voice.
I find comfort in breaking down barriers.
I find comfort in traditional song and ageless ritual.
I find comfort in throwing tradition away and seeking anew. (March 11, 2008)

He adds, "Oh yes, I find comfort in Unitarian Universalism. At its best it is a place where each is honored, and loved, and given the space and opportunity to find their own truths."

Shared salvation

At "the yes church," Chip reacts to Esther Hurlburt's recent UU World essay about her congregation's outreach to a woman named Marie. Hurlburt concludes, "We ladies didn't take Jesus to Marie or convert her in any way. We just let her find her own way, and that was her salvation." (Spring 2008)

Considering the final sentence, Chip writes:

I'm disturbed by the implication that we can or must save ourselves. I am not certain that this is what Ms. Hurlburt meant, but that is the way I read it. Martha's "earth-centered presence," and Leslie's Course in Miracles spirituality and Susan's atheist presence and Frances' AA-based words and Marybeth's poetry all impacted Marie. These women did not "let her find her own way"—they shared her journey, and showed her what gave them the strength to carry on, in their own paths. (March 11, 2008)

America's 'militant Unitarian' founding fathers

Steven Waldman, author of Founding Faith: Providence, Politics, and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America and editor-in-chief of Beliefnet, asserts at "TPMCafe" that the founding fathers can be described as "militant Unitarians":

As for their religious beliefs, someone in the comment thread said I was being incoherent or contradictory by saying the Big Five (Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, Washington & Madison) were neither Deists nor orthodox Christians. . . . [I]f I had to pick a religion, I'd say they were sort of militant Unitarians. In other words, they had rejected or become uncomfortable with key parts of Christian doctrine and institutional behavior but they did believe in an active God, who intervened in their lives and the lives of the nation. (March 12, 2008)

For two new books by UU ministers on the religious politics of America's founders, see Forrest Church's So Help Me God: The Founding Fathers and the First Great Battle Over Church and State and Gary Kowalski's Revolutionary Spirits: The Enlightened Faith of America's Founding Fathers.

Not to be missed

The Rev. Michael McGee of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, Virginia, continues his "Two Minute Timeout" talks on YouTube, in which he addresses themes related to Unitarian Universalism. Jess of "Jess's Journal" argues that Unitarian Universalism doesn't generate enough "ongoing public discussion between our own ministers." And Chutney at "Making Chutney" offers four rules for congregational life.