Military chaplaincy, debunking UU myths, and more

Ministering in the military

A Unitarian Universalist pursuing a career in military chaplaincy, David Pyle at "Celestial Lands," explains the importance of this service:

By ministering to the young men and women most deeply affected by war, I am working for peace. Peace begins in the heart, and it is to the hearts of soldiers that I am called to minister. Your call to peace might be to stand in a line and yell at your opposition, waiving placards. I respect that. Heck, I've done that. My call to peace however, is to go to the front line and minister to souls, and I ask you to respect that both are valid and necessary if we are ever to really "study war no more." (April 5, 2008)

'Seekers and makers of the holy'

Elizabeth at "Elizabeth's Little Blog" offers a prayer, including these words:

may we find the holy in our coffee, in the spider whose lovely eight legs carry her effortlessly over her web, in the kiss goodnight, in the hot meal, fuzzy blanket, and in the chill of the dark night air. may we be seekers and makers of the holy. (April 8, 2008)

Debunking myths

Stephen Merino at "Reason and Reverence" rejects the idea that "anything goes" in Unitarian Universalism:

The more I think about the 'anything goes' myth the more disturbed I get. I think it should bother UUs that this idea exists. I think the 'anything goes' idea becomes ridiculous if you understand the seven principles of UUism and the ideal of living ethically, responsibly, lovingly, and actively engaged in bettering the world. (April 8, 2008)

And the UU Republican challenges a commenter's assertion that Republican Unitarian Universalists are unusual:

Are we really that odd?

I'd say we are about as odd as Catholic Democrats. We both feel like we belong spiritually, just not politically. So we stay, regardless of what other people may think of us, because UU is our spiritual home. It's our turf too. (April 3, 2008)

The UU Republican also responds to the question "Are UU values compatible with the Republican Party?"

Reconnecting with the natural world

Adding to last week's discussion about Unitarian Universalism and Paganism, Earthbound Spirit writes that, although she does not identify as pagan, she is "deeply connected to this earth." She explains:

I believe that we humans are truly creatures of this earth — this planet . . . Here is where we came into being, this earth is where we evolve(d), we live, we die, we live on in those who come after us. We emerged, with other life forms, from the chaos, part of continuous creation/ongoing evolution. (April 3, 2008)

Louis Merlin at "Atlanta Unitarian" also values "our vital connections with the earth and its cycles," warning readers:

[A]ll the virtues of the modern world — convenience, speed, mass production — serve to disconnect us from the consequences of our actions, and serve to make us less cognizant of our many interdependent relationships with the world around us. And it seems to me there is a relationship between our disconnection with the world around us and our dissatisfaction, our modern ennui. When we become primarily or exclusively consumers, optimizers, an audience, a target market, we lose much of what makes life gratifying and grounded. (April 6, 2008)

Not to be missed

Rev. Ricky Hoyt at "One More Step" tells of a story about the intersection of "joys and sorrows." John Crovis at "The Pageless Book" explains his enthusiastic interest in conversing with atheists. And the Rev. Scott Wells at "Boy in the Bands" asserts that Christianity is "an itchy and integral part of our identity" as Unitarian Universalists.