Monday, October 1, 2007
This week at uuworld.org: Meet Carolyn McDade.
Kimberly French profiles Carolyn McDade, the fascinating woman who wrote what has become contemporary Unitarian Universalism's anthem, "Spirit of Life."
In the news, Don Skinner reports on the UUA's first national marketing campaign and on the regional marketing campaign underway in the San Francisco Bay Area. (I called attention to this story when it was published on Friday.) And Kenneth Sutton tracks this week's Unitarian Universalists in the media.
Copyright © 2007 by Philocrites | Posted 1 October 2007 at 7:10 AM
Previous: Got a great idea for the 2008 UUA General Assembly?
Next: UUA film 'Voices of a Liberal Faith' now online.
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4 comments:
Dudley Jones:
October 1, 2007 07:40 PM | Permalink for this comment
If the UU movement can't keep someone like Carolyn McDade as an active member, I don't know what to say. Maybe we should consult with social scientists? Our country is in deep trouble because of the enormous organizing success of the right wing. Why is it that so few people actually show up at UU services on Sunday morning? Our clergy are better educated and our music is just as good.
Prosopopeya:
October 1, 2007 10:04 PM | Permalink for this comment
Could it be perhaps because we tend to conclude nearly everything we say with sentences like, "Our clergy are better educated and our music is just as good"?
(I ask this question in all seriousness and without absolving myself of having done it.)
Rev. Jack Ditch:
October 2, 2007 01:27 PM | Permalink for this comment
Well, to quote Carolyn's own words, "But when someone asks where am I being spiritually formed and where am I participating in spiritual formation with others, it’s not ever been connected with churches." At least for me, that holds true for UU churches; I've gotten a lot of spiritual formation from churches of other denominations and religions.
I think part of the problem is not only the haughtiness that Prosopopeya highlights, but also the "Maybe we should consult with social scientists?" We've got a way of dehumanizing people even as we try to help them, turning them into objects of study and systems to be manipulated, rather than embracing them as fellow human beings in all their imperfection and mystery. Maybe, instead, we should be consulting with priests, imams, rabbis and monks. This ain't science, after all. It's religion.
Dudley Jones:
October 3, 2007 12:04 PM | Permalink for this comment
Sorry about the snark. Sometimes the real me comes out. I certainly was not thinking about people who went to good schools like Andover Newton or Wheaton.
In terms of spirituality, UU institutions provide a nest for many excellent teachers of meditation. Also, when I attend UU worship services, the level of pretending goes down to about zero. I really like that.
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