The Unitarian Jihad, the religious left, and more
The serious side of the Unitarian Jihad
When columnist Jon Carroll wrote about the Unitarian Jihad in the San Francisco Chronicle last year I'm not sure what response he was expecting, but what he got was an Internet phenomenon. Last month Carroll spoke to the UUA Pacific Central District Assembly about the serious message of his humorous piece. You can hear an mp3 file of the speech here. (San Fransisco Chronicle - 4.8.05, UUA Pacific Central district website - 4.29.06)
My media savvy uuworld.org colleague Chris Walton sent me the following about developments in America's religious left:
Religious liberals and the religious left
Several recent stories mentioned Unitarian Universalist involvement with efforts to revive a "religious left" in American politics. All Souls Church, Unitarian, in Washington DC hosted a four-day conference for the Network of Spiritual Progressives that drew 1,200 activists, according to the New York Times. A follow-up story in the Washington Post put the event in context by describing many other examples of progressive religious ferment. (New York Times - 5.19.06, registration required / Washington Post - 5.19.06, registration required)
A few days later, UU ministers joined an interfaith group urging the Senate on Monday to reject a constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage, drawing the attention of the New York Times. (New York Times - 5.23.06)
Thanks, Chris!
Close knit
A year ago a group of women at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Poconos in Stroudsburg, Pa., started up a shawl ministry. The group meets for a monthly knitting circle where they collectively knit shawls for people in need of some comfort. The idea for the shawl ministry came from a newspaper article about a group of Connecticut women who started a similar knitting group several years ago that has since spawned numerous other groups of compassionate knitters. (Pocono Record - Stroudsburg, PA 5.18.06)
The meaning of Mother's Day
Opinion author Karla Hailer-Fidelman looks at the origins of Mother's Day—a holiday she says Unitarian Julia Ward Howe originally conceived of as "a call for women to unite against war and violence"—and why people need to reclaim that original message. "Like others before us," she writes, "we need to pick up the banner and march forward to teach our children and their children that history is not something to be read in a book but a living, breathing, organic study." (Newton TAB - Needham, MA 5.17.06)
Celebrating a UU revival
UUA President William G. Sinkford was the featured speaker at a west-central Florida UU revival this week. The revival was a chance to celebrate the faith, energize the group, and bring area UUs together to worship. (St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg, FL 5.21.06)
Interfaith group helps out on the HomeFront
Members of the Mattatuck Unitarian Universalist Society in Connecticut joined a team of more than 80 interfaith volunteers for HomeFront Day, a nationwide event sponsored by AmeriCares that has volunteers perform one-day home repairs for homeowners in financial need. (Voices - Woodbury, CT 5.24.06)
When columnist Jon Carroll wrote about the Unitarian Jihad in the San Francisco Chronicle last year I'm not sure what response he was expecting, but what he got was an Internet phenomenon. Last month Carroll spoke to the UUA Pacific Central District Assembly about the serious message of his humorous piece. You can hear an mp3 file of the speech here. (San Fransisco Chronicle - 4.8.05, UUA Pacific Central district website - 4.29.06)
My media savvy uuworld.org colleague Chris Walton sent me the following about developments in America's religious left:
Religious liberals and the religious left
Several recent stories mentioned Unitarian Universalist involvement with efforts to revive a "religious left" in American politics. All Souls Church, Unitarian, in Washington DC hosted a four-day conference for the Network of Spiritual Progressives that drew 1,200 activists, according to the New York Times. A follow-up story in the Washington Post put the event in context by describing many other examples of progressive religious ferment. (New York Times - 5.19.06, registration required / Washington Post - 5.19.06, registration required)
A few days later, UU ministers joined an interfaith group urging the Senate on Monday to reject a constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage, drawing the attention of the New York Times. (New York Times - 5.23.06)
Thanks, Chris!
Close knit
A year ago a group of women at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Poconos in Stroudsburg, Pa., started up a shawl ministry. The group meets for a monthly knitting circle where they collectively knit shawls for people in need of some comfort. The idea for the shawl ministry came from a newspaper article about a group of Connecticut women who started a similar knitting group several years ago that has since spawned numerous other groups of compassionate knitters. (Pocono Record - Stroudsburg, PA 5.18.06)
The meaning of Mother's Day
Opinion author Karla Hailer-Fidelman looks at the origins of Mother's Day—a holiday she says Unitarian Julia Ward Howe originally conceived of as "a call for women to unite against war and violence"—and why people need to reclaim that original message. "Like others before us," she writes, "we need to pick up the banner and march forward to teach our children and their children that history is not something to be read in a book but a living, breathing, organic study." (Newton TAB - Needham, MA 5.17.06)
Celebrating a UU revival
UUA President William G. Sinkford was the featured speaker at a west-central Florida UU revival this week. The revival was a chance to celebrate the faith, energize the group, and bring area UUs together to worship. (St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg, FL 5.21.06)
Interfaith group helps out on the HomeFront
Members of the Mattatuck Unitarian Universalist Society in Connecticut joined a team of more than 80 interfaith volunteers for HomeFront Day, a nationwide event sponsored by AmeriCares that has volunteers perform one-day home repairs for homeowners in financial need. (Voices - Woodbury, CT 5.24.06)
posted by Sonja L. Cohen at
5:52 PM
