Unitarian Universalists: October 2006 Archives

It is a three day weekend.

And in response to the "Columbus Day" holiday, we did Native American Sunday. I spoke of genocide and the power that comes from being honest about our history. I also told a children's story "why the Osage honor the spider."

This choir did wonderful work with its own presentation of "1492" and Singer of Life. The congregation for the most part joined in the spirit of the celebration, hearing the Columbian - American who witnessed at Joys and Sorrows that he felt that this, the Story of Conquest was a story he knew well but had felt was never mentioned in Los Angeles. One good Unitarian told me she loved the sermon and felt guilty, and I gave her the little talk about the point of knowing the Story was not to feel guilty, rather the point was to "feel native." She was puzzled.

For me, it is not complex. Black Elk put it this way,
When I was standing on the highest mountain of them all.
and round beneath me was the whole hoop of the world.
And while I stood there, I saw more than I can tell.
And I understood more than I saw.
For I was seeing in the sacred manner the shape of all things of the spirit
And the shapes as they must live together like one being.
And I saw the sacred hoop of my people
was one of many hoopsthat make one circle
wide as daylight and starlight,

And the center grew one mighty flowering tree
To shelter all the children of one mother and one father.
And I saw that it was holy.

This morning I went to a house meeting that was introducing people to the California Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry. While I have followed the Legislative Ministry from afar for several years, it is only in the last few weeks that I have been able to experience its work relative to our congregations up close and theologically.

It offers a radical departure from social justice work as practiced by Unitarian Universalists in Massachusetts, Florida, Texas, and Quebec. A California congregation that is working on one or more of the legislative initiatives of UU Legislative Ministry gets feedback relative to their efforts because they are working with the dozens of other congregations on the same initiative. Our representatives in Sacramento can report to us that Unitarian Universalists sent 4000 valentines to the Governor witnessing for marriage equality, and California UU ministers met with 60 state legislators around a certain piece of legislation and that 40 congregations have shown the slide show on the water crisis. It helps Unitarian Universalist define their values, not by writing resolutions but by talking to their neighbors, and engaging in concrete actions with others in the interfaith community.

I experience more of a connection between social justice work and Unitarian Universalism here in California than I have before, and less alienation from the rest of the people. While that is "an impression" and I have heard of several cases of narcissistic activists trying guilt trip the congregation to do something because activist thought that would be "living UU principles" more of the social justice work here is rooted in religious values and arises from congregational process.

Such a state did not come about by itself. I will write more about the good, the bad, and the ugly in the future. But to find so much good is encouraging.