"How the Earth Works: Crystallization - The Rock Cycle Starts"

With Jim Bys and Alfred McDonald

"How the Earth Works: Volcanoes - Lava and Ash"

With Jim Bys and Alfred McDonald

SPECIAL PRESENTATION: "Inauguration Part I: An Overview of the History of United States Presidential Inaugurations.

With Carol Emerson

SPECIAL PRESENTATION: "inauguration Part II: An Review of Presidential Inaugurational Addresses                           

With Carol Emerson

The following is from a UUA document on Membership Growth. It is important to understand that a congregation can not create sustained growth simply by adding numbers. A congregation must also help people grow spiritually, relationally and developmentally in response to the challenges of the world.  

I recommend that we think about how congregations grow, and think about how we can apply these lessons because it will help Throop Church become the welcoming, inclusive, and active congregation that we have promised to work together to build.

"When we think of membership, we tend to think of numbers. Yet membership in a 

Unitarian Universalist congregation is as much about quality as it is about quantity.

Unitarian Universalist congregations exist because of the free choice of their 

members to be "gathered" into covenantal relationship with one another.  

To put these points into a historical perspective, the concepts of free choice and 

gathered were fairly extraordinary in the days of the early colonial Puritan settlers. Prior to this evolution in church governance, people went to the church of their own parish, which was a geographic location and, thus, an involuntary assignment of membership. The new concept of church became known as the free church. As current members of Unitarian Universalist congregations, we continue the covenantal relationship to "walk together" despite our differences in theological perspective. Walking together implies undertaking a journey of making meaning, which is very different from adherence to a creed.

Membership is a dynamic process rather than a single act. It begins when one makes the conscious choice to formally affiliate with a particular congregation--yet that decision marks the beginning of the membership journey rather than its end. In More Than Numbers: The Way Churches Grow, Loren Mead outlines four dimensions of growth and states that a growing, vital congregation would most likely be attending to each of these four aspects of membership: 

• Numerical growth is best calculated by tracking how many attend per week at Sunday morning worship, in Sunday school, and at adult religious education programs. This number represents the active members and is also tied to the size of the budget and the number of activities offered by the congregation. The number of people who are reported by each Unitarian Universalist congregation to be active members is the number the Unitarian Universalist Association certifies annually. 

• Maturational growth represents opportunities for members to deepen their faith and spiritual roots, as well as to increase their understanding of the spectrum of religious possibilities. This kind of growth also includes the ways in which, and the depth to which, the congregation cares for others. For maturational growth to occur, a congregation must empower members to contribute their unique talents and gifts for the well-being of the whole.   

• Organic growth is growth of the congregation as a functioning community and an institution that can engage with other institutions of society. The term refers to healthy internal organizational structures such as policies, processes, practices, and programs; recruiting and succession-planning practices for leaders; evaluation mechanisms for programs, volunteers, and paid staff; and practices that deal with conflict openly and honestly. 

• Incarnational growth is the ability to take the meanings and values of 

Unitarian Universalism and make them real in the world outside the congregation. A congregation must be able to build itself into a religious community in which people can deepen their spiritual life, be challenged to live out their faith, and engage in the larger community to make the world more loving and just." 

Each month we choose an organization we are affiliated and covenanted with to show our generosity. The organization for December is Haven House. We have been donating to this organization for over 10 years. We plan to split the offertory on Sunday, December 21st. Please plan to give generously.

In addition to splitting the offertory we will asking those of you who wish to bring socks and undies. Haven House is a shelter for abused women and their children. When they leave home they often leave with nothing. When they arrive at the shelter a fresh pair of undies and warm socks is a pleasant welcome. The other item we asking for this season are Target Gift Cards. When the families leave the shelter to start a new life they must purchase supplies for a new home. With our gift cards they are able to purchase sheets, blankets, and kitchen supplies.

Join together and give generously.

'Yes. Both Heaven and Hell look the same. They all have a dining hall with a big hot pot in the center in which some delicious noodles are boiled, giving off an appetizing scent,' said our old monk. 'The size of the pan and the number of people sitting around the pot are the same in these two places.' 'But oddly, each diner is given a pair of meter-long chopsticks and must use them to eat the noodles. And to eat the noodles, one must hold the chopsticks properly at their ends, no cheating is allowed,' the zen master went on to describe to our young monk.

'In the case of Hell, people are always starved because no matter how hard they try, they fail to get the noodles into their mouths,' said the old monk. 'But isn't it the same in Heaven?' the young monk questioned. 'No. They can eat because they each feed the person sitting opposite them at the table. You see, that is the difference between Heaven and Hell,' explained the old monk.

Being generous in life is the moral of the story. Being generous in spirit is the practice. We grow spiritually by becoming involved with our church community and then reaching beyond our walls to the outside community. We build our morale by becoming more generous. 'What does this church do? It helps the community in this way.' 

Each month we choose an organization we are affiliated and covenanted with to show our generosity. The organization for November is Union Station Family Center. This is the organization for which we make lunches once per month. We plan to split the offertory on Sunday, November 23rd. Please plan to give generously. 

My daughter, Lily, and I went to the Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, last summer. We have gone to the last two General Assemblies together. (I hope she joins me for the next one in Salt Lake City, Utah.) Each time, we peruse the catalog looking for interesting workshops to attend. We like the workshops where we can learn about something we can bring back to Throop Church and we find personally appealing. 

This time we found a workshop about the new Tapestry Series for adults. The workshop was an introduction of the new curricula that is available on the UUA.org site. There are two curricula out so far Spirit of Life and Spirit in Practice. 

We were introduced to the Spirit of Life curriculum first and then the Spirit in Practice. We were then taken through a class of Spirit in Practice. At the end of the class Lily turned to me and said, "I would like to do that curriculum." As many of you know when ever I hear those words "I would like to do that..." I think of how I can help make that happen. 

Lily and I held the first class of Spirit in Practice on Sunday, November 2, 2008. Our plan was to offer the series and see who showed up. The attendance was inspiring. During the class we explored what spirituality meant to each of us individually. I found the exchange very uplifting. I think others did too because we decided this was a curriculum we wanted to continue. 

We will be holding classes every first Sunday of the month in the Fireside Room. I led the first class and Lily will lead the second on Sunday, December 7th at 12:45 p.m. There will be a total of 10 classes in all. Each class is designed to explore a different aspect of spiritual practice. There are eight practices in all with the intention that if you do all of the practices to some extent your holistic self will be spiritually grounded and connected to the sacred. This program is define the eight spiritual practices and explore the variety of way to practice. 

Our hope for ourselves and others is develop an essence of the spiritual in all that we do and to start classes at Throop Church were we can do a few of the spiritual practices we find most appealing. Please join us. 

Last year we discussed the study action initiative on peace making along with hundreds of other Unitarian Universalist congregations. This marked the second step in a five year process with our Unitarian Universalist Association,  first several congregations submitted a draft for discussion and other congregations endorsed the draft as a possible Study Action Initiative.  Then the General Assembly adopted it, and sent a study guide which we discussed.

We submitted our thoughts to the Commission on Social Witness, an independent elected body of the General Assembly which after receiving the thoughts of all the participating congregations drafted a statement based on what they heard from the congregations.  This is the draft Statement of Conscience for discussion.  After discussion and feedback from the congregations the draft will be revised and submitted to the General Assembly for adoption.

We are experiencing the same process with our new Study Action initiative on Ethical Eating and Environmental Justice.  These initiatives are related in that it is difficult to understand how we can have a world of peace without also working to create a world without starvation.  This means a world based on equitable and sustainable agriculture and food distribution.

Peacemaking: A Draft Unitarian Universalist Statement of Conscience, November 2008

War is abhorrent. Violence is reprehensible. Human history has been marked by both. Religion has been a catalyst for war and for peace, sanctioning behaviors individual and international. What is our religious response as Unitarian Universalists to the historic habits of war and the timeless challenges of peace? 

Should we reject the use of any and all kinds of violence and war and affirm a commitment to seek just peace through non-violent means? Should we continue with the more conventional practice of seeking peace through application of "just war" criteria? Are these our only options as we seek to promote "a world community of peace, liberty, and justice for all?" This Statement of Conscience results from widespread deliberation and presents an approach arising out of our history, theology, and understanding of human nature for building a peaceful, just, and sustainable global future.

Theology and History

Our theology affirms the holy as that which demonstrates love, compassion, and inclusiveness. Peace is an extension of this affirmation; war is abhorrent to it; violence is in conflict with it. Our principles and purposes are consonant with this understanding and have emerged from a long history of prophetic discernment, but they have not led to agreement on issues of war and peace. It is community in covenant that sustains us across these differences.

Covenant lies at the core of our religious belief and aspiration and is grounded in a commitment to persuasion over coercion.  This commitment to persuasion is evident in our promotion of "a world community of peace, liberty, and justice for all," which is closely aligned with the covenantal charter of the United Nations.

Persuasion doesn't always work, as 20th century Unitarian Universalist theologian James Luther Adams witnessed while residing in Germany during the early years of the Third Reich. The Nazis chose violence as the tool of state, with the aim of world domination. Adams advocated U.S. military action to meet this demonic threat, a position counter to the pacifist stances of 19th century Universalist Adin Ballou and 20th century Unitarian John Haynes Holmes. Holmes, affirmed by his congregation in New York City, maintained his pacifist stance over against the American Unitarian Association's threat to withdraw support from congregations not committed to the war effort of World War I. A half century later, the Unitarian Universalist Association witnessed widespread congregational discord over the Vietnam War, with so many Unitarian Universalists being against the war. Amid the harsh realities of war and peace, there are no easy answers.

Pacifism and Just War

Pacifism and just war are multi-dimensional strategies and stances in opposition to war. Pacifism can be absolute, conditional, or selective. Just war is a centuries-old framework for taking a moral stance on a particular war. Common just war criteria include: just cause, legitimate authority, right intention, last resort, proportionality, and probability of success. The last resort criterion, for example, is a judgment regarding the exhaustion of all non-violent means for preventing war. Proportionality is a consideration of the ratio of good presumably achieved over the suffering unleashed. "Just war" itself is a misnomer. No war is just. The operant term is "justifiable." Just war criteria are invoked to determine whether a particular war is justifiable in re-establishing peace and justice. Conscientious objectors span pacifist and just war positions.

Pacifism and just war are both stances of conscience and reason. Both acknowledge our human inclinations toward competition and cooperation.

Human Biology

Human violence reflects our evolutionary history. From distant times, the stronger and more violent have often prevailed. Anger and violence leap full flower in each of us from an early age. Physically and mentally we have an evolved capacity for violence that can result in physical, emotional, economic, or environmental injury. Violence occurs across all levels of human interaction. By adulthood most of us have learned to restrain our use of physical violence. Yet violence among nations occurs with regularity and commonly achieves desired ends unless circumscribed by law or mores.

Humans also have an evolved capacity for cooperative behavior, resulting in our development of morals, laws and institutions to minimize the use of violence. Cooperative behavior is the foundation of nonviolence and peace. It is the basis of trust. Intentional nonviolence paired with cooperative behavior encourages compassionate communication and peaceful resolution of conflict.

Just Peacemaking

Building a culture of peace at all levels of human interaction requires a transformation of consciousness, individual lifestyles, and public policies. At the heart of this transformation is the will to understand the truths voiced on all sides from a stance of empathy and love.

We are called to stand on the side of love. We are also called to stand on the side of justice and against the violence of oppression in all its manifestations. When a conflict or the threat of a conflict emerges in our world, we as Unitarian Universalists draw on our history as champions of both nonviolence and justice, informed by a diversity of views. As a faith holding covenant over creed, we eschew claims of absolute truth, so we need an approach to conflict--including the horrific conflict that is war--which transcends the dichotomy of pacifism vs. just war. We need an approach that honors affirmations common to both pacifist and just war traditions, affirmations of "the inherent worth and dignity of every person" and of "justice, equity, and compassion in human relations."

Just Peacemaking is this approach. Just Peacemaking calls us to understand peace as normative and violence as aberrant, while evaluating the prospect of violent conflict by balancing the goal of peace preservation with the desire for war prevention. The former just war criteria become Just Peacemaking guidelines. With each guideline, we must ask not what justifies war, but what justifies the humanitarian preservation or restoration of peace. If force is ever to be used, it must be in the service of ending violence of much greater magnitude. We support our military personnel who have made the decision to engage in such service.

Our Unitarian Universalist values commit us to work toward a culture of peace that makes war and all other forms of violence avoidable and universally recognized as reprehensible and ineffective for honoring human rights and human dignity. Just Peacemaking melds love and justice in moving us toward a culture of peace at all levels of human interaction.

Calls to Action

Just Peacemaking calls for action at all levels of human interaction. To be effective, our actions must be incorporated into existing structures and institutions and new systems must be created.

International Peacemaking

We covenant as an Association, as congregations, and as individuals to advocate vigorously for policies that move the United States toward collaborative leadership in building a peaceful, just, and sustainable world. These include:

w Supporting the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office in advancing the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, the Earth Charter, the International Criminal Court, the United Nations Convention Against Torture, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

w Supporting the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee in ending the use of torture and addressing structural violence in all its forms;

w Supporting interfaith groups such as the Center on Conscience and War in advocating for the right of conscientious objection, including education and resources on the availability of this option; and

w Supporting the establishment of a national network or working group among Unitarian Universalists to identify and disseminate information on peacemaking programs and resources.

Societal Peacemaking

We covenant to act in the wider community in reducing the causes of structural violence.  We do this through:

w Supporting the socially responsible investment of our Association and congregational assets;

w Supporting Association and congregational initiatives aimed at eradicating racism, classism, and other forms of cultural and economic oppression; and 

w Supporting Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth in adopting life styles and polices that promote harmony with our natural environment.

Congregational Peacemaking

We covenant to take up peacemaking as part of our mission through worship, religious education, and social action by: 

w Developing Peace Teams to provide training in compassionate communication and conflict resolution and engage the congregation in multi-level action toward a culture of peace;

w Working through congregational governing bodies to develop and honor behavioral covenants in all aspects of congregational life;

w Working through our lifespan religious education structures to provide workshops on conflict resolution and compassionate communication, to encourage understanding and participation in social justice ventures, and to utilize Unitarian Universalist resources such as "Peacemaking in Congregations: A Guide to Learning Opportunities for All Ages;" and

w Becoming a peacemaking resource within our communities in cooperation with other faith traditions.

Interpersonal Peacemaking

As individuals we covenant to:

w Learn and practice the skills of compassionate communication;
w Honor the behavioral covenants of our congregations; and
w Adopt lifestyle changes that reflect reverence for the interdependent web of all existence.

Inner Peacemaking

We covenant to develop spiritual practices that impart internal peace.

In reverence for all life, we covenant to practice peace by minimizing violence at all levels of human interaction.

Last updated on Friday, October 31, 2008.

Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations | 25 Beacon Street | Boston, MA 02108 | 617-742-2100 | info@uua.org

© Copyright 1996 - 2006 Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. All Rights Reserved.

The people of our nation and our state are in engaged in a time of decision there is much anxiety and there is much concern.  So many people are in motion, reaching out talking to neighbors, contributing what they can.  There is much energy, and some of what we witness is dangerous.

Late last week a young woman working for a political campaign claimed that she was mugged and beaten by a supporter of opposing candidate. It came out that this young woman was lying, she was trying to provoke a scandal. The mugger it was said was a Big Black Man. The woman making the false accusation is a young white woman.  Some in the media joined in the hysteria. Shame on them.

Too much of election 2008 is about image and posturing, and inciting racism and fear of the other. Let us be calm and determined to move through this time and then join in a time after the elections when we can be part of the healing.

May we be open to this time in our lives, and may we avoid getting caught up the temptations of this moment.

May we be sober in this time of high expectation and patient with the process.  

This a time of high anxiety,  let us be calm and present to moment.  

B By Rev. Rebecca Parker, President 

Starr King School for the Ministry, Berkeley, CA

Your gifts -- whatever you discover them to be can be used to bless or curse the world. The mind's power, the strength of the hands, the reaches of the heart, the gift of speaking, listening, imagining, seeing, waiting -- any of these can serve to feed the hungry, bind up wounds, welcome the stranger, praise what is sacred, do the work of justice, or offer love. Any of these can draw down the prison door, hoard bread, abandon the poor, obscure what is holy, comply with injustice or withhold love. You must answer this question: What will you do with your gifts?

Choose to bless the world. The choice to bless the world can take you into solitude to search for the sources of power and grace; native wisdom, healing and liberation. More, the choice will draw you into community, the endeavor shared, the heritage passed on, the companionship of struggle, the importance of keeping faith, the life of ritual and praise, the comfort of human friendship, the company of earth, its chorus of life welcoming you. 

None of us alone can save the world. Together -- that is another possibility, waiting.