RevCyn

Heartland Unitarian Universalist Ministers’ Statement on Trayvon Martin Case March 29, 2012 Unitarian Universalist ministers from the Heartland District (covering parts of Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky) gathered in Lansing, Michigan today and, joining with our Florida colleagues , issued the following statement regarding last month’s tragic killing of Trayvon Martin in Central Florida. Whereas serious questions remain about the events of February 26 and the investigation into those events; and Whereas the public outrage surrounding this case is reflective of deeper issues in our society and the lived experience of many of its people of color; and Whereas these individual incidents are not isolated occurrences but rather are fueled by consistent messages of fear and division in our national and political discourse; and Whereas all people deserve the full blessings of justice, equity, and compassion in our society and in our justice system; We therefore call for a thor...

         I was deeply disturbed when Caylee Anthony went missing and mourned her death.  I know why, too.  She was of a similar age to my own daughter, and at least one person told me that Caylee reminded this person of my own daughter.  Caylee's big brown eyes, in particular, do have a resemblance.          I cried when I read about Christina Taylor Green , who was 9 years old when she died in the shootings in Tucson.  She, too, reminded me of my daughter, a precocious, politically-involved, brown-haired, brown-eyed girl.           I know why I mourned these little girls who, for a moment, caught our nation's attention.  They were innocent, beautiful, and gone too soon.  And they were in the media spotlight -- beautiful little girls -- white little girls.  Their deaths were horrible, outrageous, and made us sad and also furio...

So if living as if there is no God doesn't mean living immorally, what does it mean?  Without threat of eternal damnation, it means that we must take seriously the consequences of negative behaviors during our time on earth. Without threat of eternal rewards, it means we must live life to the fullest, appreciating the beauty, love, and kindness that we experience now, and share it with others. Without a God to make the rules, it means we must pay attention to our rules, create our own moral codes as individuals and a society and justify our behaviors as moral to the larger community.  With this as the only world we will know, it means that we must take care of it, and make ensure that our planet is livable for generations to come. Without a God's love and support, it means we must love and support one another. Without a God to blame for negative things happening, it means we must work to make a world where people are cared for in the best way possible. Without a God to...

A Christian colleague ran across the term "Practical Atheist" recently and brought it to a group I'm in for definition and discussion.  I wasn't familiar with it, and as probably the only thing close to an Atheist in the group (for the record, I call myself an Agnostic), offered up that it might be about a distinction between declared Atheists and default atheists (those who have not made a sort of declaration of atheism, but have no belief in God).  Other Christian colleagues in the group went with a definition of those people who might profess a belief in Christ, but live a Godless lifestyle.  Turns out, it seems they were right according to some definitions.  And that makes sense, because it's not a term that would make sense within the Atheist community, but makes sense in the Christian community.  And no term is likelier to drive Atheists hopping mad, now that I understand it better. So here's the Wikipedia definition , which would be closer to my defin...

The UUA President, the Rev. Peter Morales published a working paper titled "Congregations and Beyond" last week.  It's available in its entirety here .  In it he says, "I am realizing in a profound way that congregations cannot be the only way we
 connect with people." and "We have long defined ourselves as an association of congregations. We need to think
 of ourselves as a religious movement."  The Rev. Morales says, "
Congregations as local parishes arose in a different era. They arose in a time of limited
 mobility and communication. Most members lived within a couple of miles of their
 church."  This is something that I've been thinking about recently, as well.  The time that the church is where you go to in order to hear the latest ideas or even the latest gossip is a time that's behind us.  The church is no longer the central, or even a central, hub for how people get and exchange information and ideas.  There are still thi...

In 1964, Madalyn Murray O'Hair , founder of the American Atheists, was called "the most hated woman in America." Judging from the response to Jessica Ahlquist, the love of atheists hasn't increased much.  Indeed, in 2009, a University of Minnesota research study published in the American Sociological Review showed atheists to be the most disliked minority group of those they polled, including Muslims and homosexuals. When asked to respond to the statement, "This Group Does Not At All Agree with My Vision of American Society," 39.6% agreed atheists do not (26.3% for Muslims, who came in second), and 47.6% would disapprove of their child marrying an atheist (33.5% for Muslims, again the next highest category). So perhaps the vehemence directed toward 16-year-old Jessica Ahlquist should not be shocking.  Ahlquist is a teenager who attends Cranston High School West in Cranston, Rhode Island.  Cranston High School West had a prayer banner that hung in their ...

 (Continuing from Part 1 ) Well, it seems the video of young Girl Scout, Taylor, which asking you to boycott Girl Scout cookies because Girl Scouts is inclusive of transgender girls, has been taken down. There are a number of well-done responses from Girl Scouts that are available, however.  Some of my favorites are: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAnt5cqQ4Ss http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCDtaGCjujc http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=qxWM3dxfbX0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BChDci9mkE&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=k85-CXLLIek These Girl Scouts make several good points about what Girl Scouts is all about.  A primary one is about the Girl Scout Law.  In her original video, Taylor talked about the line of the Girl Scout Law that says, "Honest and Fair," and how Girl Scouts is somehow not being honest if they're not proclaiming loudly to everyone involved that there are transgende...