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. Laurel 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).