DanceLessons

Imagining God

I'm faciliating a group at my Church called Imagining God.  Most of the people who show up are new members.  Let me rephrase that, two of us long-time members.  We are going into our fourth month and have ten attendees.  Every new person is new to Unitarian Universalism.   Three are from St Johns College (Great Books) and love discussion.  They are in their 20's and 30's and come with no wounds from other religions.  In fact they resist anything that might move the conversation in that directions. Refreshing and challenging. 

I hope to move more into spiritual practice/experiencial stuff. It is much harder to do that than I imagined.  Finding  source material.  Comfort zones. etc.  Next week we are talking about how/if God or belief of God makes you a better person (however devined) 

Nancy

Exodus

Baby Boomers have exodus stories, which they are pleased to share.  “I was brought up a______________________ (fill in the blank) and it didn’t make sense and I couldn’t believe it anymore so I left.  (The wounds may be accounted for here).  When I discovered UU’sm, I felt like I had come home.   We share our stories and the become part of our own personal mythology.  Some readers of the Torah say the land promised to the Israelites was a special place, a spiritually sensitive place, a place of tremendous potential,   and a place where one has to behave in a special manner. We need to add to our stories about the arrival and living in the Promised Land. These are the stories that we need to share.  Richard, a 30 year old new member of the church, told me he didn’t want to hear any more exodus stories from members.  He said “I try to have a conversation but it is always interrupted by the person showing me their wounds.  UU’s sure have a lot of baggage. “   It was an aha moment. The next generations have their own stories. And if we are in the Promised Land, we need to begin building foundations and digging wells of our souls and others – using the tremendous spiritual potential we find here.

UU Evangelism

I’ve read many a sermon that begin something like this:  Minister:  I going to admit something.  I am a UU evangelist.  I’m sure you’ve heard something similar. 

Funny word Evangelism.  It is like the god word.  There is the little ‘e’ evangelism and the big ‘E’ Evangelism.  At least thirty million people use the big ‘E’.   They refer to themselves as being Evangelical Christions.  Not Presbyterians, Catholics, or Methodists.  Jesus is their personal savior and scriptures are unerring.  There are Evangelical Churches, Parachurches, Seminaries, Theologians, Journals, and Associations. The word with the little ‘e’ means to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.  That word is understood by millions other people who belong to mainstream churches.   

The big ‘E’s don’t like the little ‘e’s to use their word.  According to the big ‘E’s little 'e's don’t have the right message. Little 'e's feel that the big 'E's have co-opted their vocabulary.  And then there is the UU E's.  I'm not sure if it should be capitalized.  UU's spreading the good news. Spreading or telling or sharing or witness are fine for the first part.  But what about the second part. What is our good news?  I need some bold and clear. Not a 30 second elevator speech. Words, dynamic, living that feed my soul.