January 2011 Blog Posts (56)

We were people of many ages (infant to 80s), races, faiths.  We gathered to experience and to learn about the pervasiveness, injustice, and interconnections of hunger in the world.  Although the topic was serious and troubling, the spirit of the gathering was warm and welcoming, filled with compassion, energy, humor, engagement, and community.

   Many thanks to Jacomina deRegt, Sana Saeed, the Interfaith Youth Group, and UUCA Green Action members for a powerful and meaningful 90…

One of the aspirations of membership here at UUCA is that members participate in a social justice activity at least once each year. This week may be a particularly good one to engage in the democratic process and contribute to more justice and peace in our state.

As of last Friday, most of the immigration bills before the General Assembly and opposed by our friends at the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations (VACOLAO) were heard in subcommittee #3 in the House Courts of…

Last night I performed a blessing for a friend of mine moving back into a house where she once lived. It had been originally scheduled for this Tuesday, but the movers' arrival date was changed to today, and we wanted to have the ritual complete before all her and her family's possessions arrived. This meant that I couldn't be at last night's Hunger Banquet at UUCA, so I'm looking forward to hearing how it went.

I based the house blessing on a spiritual housekeeping ritual…

Fellowship Hall, Friday February 4

Reception:      630-730pm

Coffee House: 730-900pm

Coffee House Flyer

UUCA Coffee House Kickoff to Peace Camp Awareness and Fund Raising will be preceded by a reception introducing the vibrant art of Mossy "Mike" Bikoni, friend of…

Many years ago when I was a writer for Religion News Service, an Ethiopian Archbishop visited the Inter-Church Center on the Upper West Side of Manhattan where I worked. Upon his arrival, there was a crowd of Eritrean protestors pelting eggs at him, shouting that he was a murderer.

From a journalistic perspective, there was clearly a story to cover, and I wanted to write it. As it turned out, I didn't have the historical context or the depth of understanding of the cultures…

As I previously posted, Dr. Mark Miller, Emma Smith Morris Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Delaware, will come to UUCA to lecture on U.S.-Mexico immigration Friday, February 11, 7:00 p.m. (admission is free). He is one of the contributors to the book Getting Immigration Right: What Every American Needs to Know, as well the co-author/co-editor of several books, including The War on Terror in…

If you're on Facebook -- isn't everyone? -- I recommend that you subscribe to the Unitarian Universalist Association so you can get the latest news on what's going on in UUA land.  You will also receive a weekly meditation, which I always enjoy.  I was surprised and pleased that this week's meditation was by none other than me.  And it wasn't the usual written meditation but my Two Minute Timeout video on the subject of Namaste that I recently put on our church web site.  I received a lot of…

There’s been much excited talk about the connections and conflicts between the Capital Campaign (CC) and Social Justice (SJ).  For example:

•  “Will the renewed space bring about more Social Justice work?  Will it attract a more diverse congregation (more modest-income, darker-skinned folks?)”

•  “Will  the Capital Campaign drain money away from Social Justice, or inspire more SJ giving—maybe even enough to hire a full-time, paid, professional Social Justice…

There’s been much excited talk about the connections and conflicts between the Capital Campaign (CC) and Social Justice (SJ).  For example:

•  “Will the renewed space bring about more Social Justice work?  Will it attract a more diverse congregation (more modest-income, darker-skinned folks?)”

•  “Will  the Capital Campaign drain money away from Social Justice, or inspire more SJ giving—maybe even enough to hire a full-time, paid, professional Social Justice…

I'm very saddened this morning to read about the murder of David Kato, an outspoken gay rights activist in Uganda. He was among those recently targeted by an anti-gay tabloid there under the headline "Hang Them".

Uganda has become notorious in recent years for its rabid homophobia, stirred by…

Each January for the past several years, I have gone to Sudbury, Massachusetts,  for the Annual Meeting of the Fraters of the Wayside Inn, the oldest continuing ministers' study group within the UUA. Starting in 1903, a cadre of ministers has gathered at this historic site to present and respond to papers, to worship together and to fraternize. The meeting typically starts the Sunday evening after M.L.K. Jr, Day and goes through Wednesday morning. It's a small group -- we're limited to the…

The reading below is one I offered several weeks back for our weekly Embracing Meditation. Someone said to me in the receiving line that day that her husband should have been there to hear the message, and I promised to post it here. I meant to do that long before now, but here it is. I hope others find it as helpful to be reminded of this lesson as I do.

Huitang said to Master Xiang:

What has been long neglected cannot be restored…

Who would have thought that in a few short weeks, we could have pulled together a relatively seamless worship experience involving dancers, choirs, founders, elected officials, ministers, members, banner-carriers, musicians, technical support, ushers, greeters, childcare providers, stagehands, staff members and more? This is a sign of what we can accomplish working cooperatively and toward a goal greater than ourselves in the name of love and service.

So it will be with the…

This is a promise I will keep

This is a promise I will keep

I will turn my hand toward good

This is a promise I will keep

I was so happy when I learned the Clerestory Choir would be singing this Nick Page composition as part of our "Renewing Our Spaces, Renewing Our Spirit" Capital Campaign kickoff Sunday morning. It almost always brings a tear to my eye, probably because when I hear it sung so beautifully by a choir…

In a few hours, we will gather together at Washington-Lee High School (one service at 10:00 a.m.) as UUCA kicks officially kicks off its 2011 Capital Campaign, "Renewing Our Spirit, Renewing Our Spaces". It's going to be a special morning, with 700 or 800 of us united in celebration of the life we share together as a liberal religious community. The music will be transcendent, the acoustics will be superior, the words inspiring ... and we may also be a little bit disoriented outside our…

This post is a continuation of yesterday's about Immigrant Advocacy Day, Tuesday, January 18, sponsored by the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations (VACOLAO).

Claire Gastanaga, a strategic adviser for VACOLAO, briefed us about how to approach our state Senators and Delegates. We were focused primarily on legislation that sought to curtail or restrict access to education for undocumented students, and that would further erode relations between state and local law…

What: A peaceful presence to express our wish to have Del. Albo withdraw his anti-immigrant legislation. We will stand with signs outside his distict office and invite passersby to join us, and will talk to reporters if any, and just by being there make a statement that we stand on the side of love.…

Tuesday's Immigrant Advocacy Day with our friends at VACOLAO (the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations) came together very well, in spite of the ice that greeted all of us as we headed to catch the bus. When I saw the thick sheet of ice on my car windows and on the streets at 5:30 that morning, I almost gave up myself. But then I talked to Lavona, our Social Justice Coordinator, and she was still going.I called Edgar Aranda, VACOLAO's chair, and he said the bus was filling up. I called…

If it feels crazy, it probably is.

-- Melody Beattie, Codependent No More