As a Unitarian UNIVERSALIST minister, I was pretty surprised to read in the Seattle Times today about a local "religious right" pastor saying things like: "God is not coercive, the idea that people ought to be free to live their life and live the way they want to--I don't object to that." That's Pastor Joseph Fuiten of Bothell. Sounds like something I'd say, not something that a pastor who has provided leadership to try to defeat gay rights in our state. But Fuiten isn't backing Referendum 71, the attempt to block our state's domestic partnership act.
Why? Well he is saying that maybe it's because he is getting older; maybe it has something to do with perspective thrust upon him after his 2004 heart attack and his current prostate cancer. I don't know. I'd like to think the spirit of love is moving in him, calling him to a transformation. He says he doesn't want the church to be seen as oppressive...well, good, but well duh...it takes a transformation of your theology to believe that each person's right to love whomever they will is good in the eyes of whatever powers operate in this universe.
Fuiten says people need to hear about hope, not hell. I wonder if he has ever read our UU spiritual ancestor, the Universalist John Murray who said, "Give 'em Hope, Not Hell." Indeed, he may be a becoming a Universalist without knowing it. Maybe I'll invite him to church. We believe in universal salvation, don't we? Even of born agains?
Enjoy the beautiful day, 88 degrees!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Praying in the Name of Jesus
I often end my prayers "in the name of all that is holy." What I mean by that is that the expression of my prayer is in service to and hopefully in alignment to the most sacred that we know. Prayer itself, I believe, is human expression, whether silent or spoken, of our deepest most authentic longings, gratitudes, fears and joys.
Of course many Christians end their prayers, "in Jesus name, Amen." Which is just fine for a Christian setting. But what about when a Christian minister is praying in public, for a diverse crowd of humanists, atheistics, agnostics, Muslems, and Jews and Christians and others too numerous to mention? I don't know what those ministers are thinking when they speak in their own language solely. Do they know that what they are saying leaves many out? If the purpose of public prayer is to express as much as possible what the whole group is longing for, and what they are feeling deeply about; if the purpose is to have a moment when all are together spiritually in the hopes and aspirations, then why use language which leaves some people, many people, feeling left out? Why use language that is exclusive and at best requires translation?
If prayer is a deeply and commonly human experience of expression of our longings and feelings, hopes and aspirations, then it does not require dogmatic language to be so. So when inaugural prayers are strickly Christian I don't think it serves us well. As a Unitarian Universalist I am called to go deep enough to the bedrock of common humanity. I would hope that those chosen to do public prayers could learn how to do that too, or else say "no thank you." In a sense it is what is required of all hospital chaplains...they must be able to pray with everyone, without their particular dogma, but rather first exploring what religious heritage comforts the patient. Unitarian Universalist chaplains in hospitals pray in Jesus name for Christian patients, in the name of all that is holy for spiritual humanists. Offering prayers for others, you see, is not about us, but about those for whom we are leading prayer.
Enough said.
Of course many Christians end their prayers, "in Jesus name, Amen." Which is just fine for a Christian setting. But what about when a Christian minister is praying in public, for a diverse crowd of humanists, atheistics, agnostics, Muslems, and Jews and Christians and others too numerous to mention? I don't know what those ministers are thinking when they speak in their own language solely. Do they know that what they are saying leaves many out? If the purpose of public prayer is to express as much as possible what the whole group is longing for, and what they are feeling deeply about; if the purpose is to have a moment when all are together spiritually in the hopes and aspirations, then why use language which leaves some people, many people, feeling left out? Why use language that is exclusive and at best requires translation?
If prayer is a deeply and commonly human experience of expression of our longings and feelings, hopes and aspirations, then it does not require dogmatic language to be so. So when inaugural prayers are strickly Christian I don't think it serves us well. As a Unitarian Universalist I am called to go deep enough to the bedrock of common humanity. I would hope that those chosen to do public prayers could learn how to do that too, or else say "no thank you." In a sense it is what is required of all hospital chaplains...they must be able to pray with everyone, without their particular dogma, but rather first exploring what religious heritage comforts the patient. Unitarian Universalist chaplains in hospitals pray in Jesus name for Christian patients, in the name of all that is holy for spiritual humanists. Offering prayers for others, you see, is not about us, but about those for whom we are leading prayer.
Enough said.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Bishop Gene Robinson's Inaugaral Prayer
There were problems in the sound system during Bishop Gene Robinson's prayer at the Lincoln Memorial Concert yesterday; I've heard of microphone or speaker troubles. And it was not included in the original HBO coverage. Some wonder if that was intentional, given that the Bishop is gay. I don't know. But when unfortunate things happen, I think we ought to make good out of it, so let's plaster this most moving, brave and couragous prayer all over the place...here it is! Blessings all, Peg
+Gene Robinson's Prayer for President-elect Barack Obama
A Prayer for the Nation and Our Next President, Barack Obama
By The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire
Opening Inaugural EventLincoln Memorial, Washington, DCJanuary 18, 2009
Welcome to Washington! The fun is about to begin, but first, please join me in pausing for a moment, to ask God’s blessing upon our nation and our next president.
O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will…
Bless us with tears – for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.
Bless us with anger – at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
Bless us with discomfort – at the easy, simplistic “answers” we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.
Bless us with patience – and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be “fixed” anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.
Bless us with humility – open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.
Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance – replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.
Bless us with compassion and generosity – remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.
And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.
Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln’s reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy’s ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King’s dream of a nation for ALL the people.
Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times.
Give him stirring words, for we will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.
Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.
Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.
Give him the strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters’ childhoods.
And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we’re asking FAR too much of this one. We know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and we implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand – that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity and peace.
AMEN.
+Gene Robinson's Prayer for President-elect Barack Obama
A Prayer for the Nation and Our Next President, Barack Obama
By The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire
Opening Inaugural EventLincoln Memorial, Washington, DCJanuary 18, 2009
Welcome to Washington! The fun is about to begin, but first, please join me in pausing for a moment, to ask God’s blessing upon our nation and our next president.
O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will…
Bless us with tears – for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.
Bless us with anger – at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
Bless us with discomfort – at the easy, simplistic “answers” we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.
Bless us with patience – and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be “fixed” anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.
Bless us with humility – open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.
Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance – replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.
Bless us with compassion and generosity – remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.
And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.
Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln’s reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy’s ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King’s dream of a nation for ALL the people.
Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times.
Give him stirring words, for we will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.
Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.
Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.
Give him the strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters’ childhoods.
And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we’re asking FAR too much of this one. We know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and we implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand – that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity and peace.
AMEN.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Obama's Service for Grandmother at UU
It is not too often that a very famous person brings the Unitarian Universalist faith into public view. President Elect Obama's mother used to attend East Shore Unitarian in Bellevue WA, where I did my internship. They elected to have her mother's memorial at the Unitarian Church in Hawaii--Honolulu. Here is a U tube video of it, showing the building...
http://www.kitv.com/video/18350671/index.html
http://www.kitv.com/video/18350671/index.html
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Being Snowed In
I admit it, I love being snowed in. The spiritual question I often ponder about myself is, "do I have to be busy?" for the works of a minister are never done. Do I like always having more good works to do? Am I dependent upon such a life style? So when the snow falls, and services get cancelled, as they did all over King County last Sunday, it was a chance to test my spiritual needs.
I love the continual fire in the fireplace, watching snowflakes fall. I love good music and good reading, and finally really watching the Netflix movie that has been on the coffee table...this is our sixth day of being snowed in...the slower pace is delightful. I even made chocolate chip cookies yesterday...imagine taking time for that...and now my puppy is joyfully entertaining us by throwing around her toys and chasing them. What a delight she is.
I love my ministry and my congregation, but a little mini sabbatical is a good thing. How about you?
I love the continual fire in the fireplace, watching snowflakes fall. I love good music and good reading, and finally really watching the Netflix movie that has been on the coffee table...this is our sixth day of being snowed in...the slower pace is delightful. I even made chocolate chip cookies yesterday...imagine taking time for that...and now my puppy is joyfully entertaining us by throwing around her toys and chasing them. What a delight she is.
I love my ministry and my congregation, but a little mini sabbatical is a good thing. How about you?
Can the Pope Become More Irrelevant?
The headlines of an English newspaper implied that the Pope in an address for Christmas to his staff, perhaps a pep talk to them for the new year, said: "'Saving' humanity from homosexual or transsexual behaviour is just as important as saving the rainforests." My immediate response was doesn't he have anything more relevant to say at Christmas? Now I investigate further and find out that the paper largely exaggerated what was said. He actually said "marriage is another aspect of the planet that needs saving." Well ok, he could be saying a lot of things with that...stop living together without a ceremony, have more babies, or...stop finding someone of same sex to love....
I guess I still have to say...isn't there something more important to worry about? Wouldn't it be better to explore more deeply the needs people have for intimacy, and the beauty of the diversity for how we experience it? More affirmation, less condemnation? Seems like he is continuing to be irrelevant with so much poverty, global environment, and war in our midst.
He already has urged his Catholic followers to simplify their lives, become less materialistic....can't he see the irony here? Wouldn't he have to sell the Vatican riches and give the proceeds to the poor before anyone could possibly take him seriously?
If I ever wondered if I made the right decision to leave the Roman Catholic Church, I don't now. (Actually I never have second guessed that decision.) It seems to me that these kinds of pronouncements are keeping people from God, not taking them closer...for God, or ultimate wisdom, Truth with a capital T is about recognizing our common ground, not creating distance between us...it's about our oneness, not our fear of difference. It's about the joy and beauty of the bouquet of humanity, the different colors, cultures and orientations...what is to fear in that? Unless you are insecure, need control, need others to think as you do...
--well ok, we all are insecure, need control and need others to agree with us, but when you are the Pope, or any other kind of clergy you have a spiritual, ethical obligation to keep those amigdular needs under control so that you help god continue to reveal beauty and truth through the lives of all people, particularly those in minority groups.
I know, I just live in a different paradigm...
I guess I still have to say...isn't there something more important to worry about? Wouldn't it be better to explore more deeply the needs people have for intimacy, and the beauty of the diversity for how we experience it? More affirmation, less condemnation? Seems like he is continuing to be irrelevant with so much poverty, global environment, and war in our midst.
He already has urged his Catholic followers to simplify their lives, become less materialistic....can't he see the irony here? Wouldn't he have to sell the Vatican riches and give the proceeds to the poor before anyone could possibly take him seriously?
If I ever wondered if I made the right decision to leave the Roman Catholic Church, I don't now. (Actually I never have second guessed that decision.) It seems to me that these kinds of pronouncements are keeping people from God, not taking them closer...for God, or ultimate wisdom, Truth with a capital T is about recognizing our common ground, not creating distance between us...it's about our oneness, not our fear of difference. It's about the joy and beauty of the bouquet of humanity, the different colors, cultures and orientations...what is to fear in that? Unless you are insecure, need control, need others to think as you do...
--well ok, we all are insecure, need control and need others to agree with us, but when you are the Pope, or any other kind of clergy you have a spiritual, ethical obligation to keep those amigdular needs under control so that you help god continue to reveal beauty and truth through the lives of all people, particularly those in minority groups.
I know, I just live in a different paradigm...
Monday, December 22, 2008
The Warren Invocation
Obama's appointments to cabinet posts have been fabulous, with record numbers of racial minority appointments, and a 1/3 women...
And I really respect the idea of not cutting communication with people who are not on the same side of issues...that's going to be important both domestically and internationally...so the fact that he went looking for an evangelical person to do an invocation is ok by me, though I think a rabbi would have been a good choice too...but given an evangelical, he could have chosen one who has no respect for the environment and who only is hell bent for "rapture." But instead he chose a person who is working hard to make this place on earth a healthier place. Warren's environmental, HIV, and other charitable leadership is admirable.
But Warren is a segregationist. I doubt Obama would have considered a minister who had on their website that Black people need not come to his church. And yet he has offered this big honor to someone who excludes "unrepentant" gay people from his church. I really wonder if Obama realized this was any deeper than just a disagreement about attitudes about gay marriage? I'd like to think Obama was ignorant, because I would be despondent to think Obama would have made this move knowing what Warran's fuller attitudes on GLBT are.
What I dislike about Warran the most is how he is so ignorant and stereotyping of gay people, referring to bestiality and assuming multiple partners. Heck, I hardly know any gay people who aren't monogamous, though I know a whole lot of straight people who have multiple partners. I recognize Warren is doing some good things in his life with regard to charities, but offering this honor to Warran is a real kick in the teeth to gay and lesbian people.
I'm sure Obama has heard about this by now...I just wish he had invited an evangelical flute choir to march in the parade and had an invocation by a rabbi or a UCC minister...I know he couldn't have invited a Unitarian Universalist--that would have been just too inclusive...
I hope this is the last time Obama is rude to my dear gay friends.
And I really respect the idea of not cutting communication with people who are not on the same side of issues...that's going to be important both domestically and internationally...so the fact that he went looking for an evangelical person to do an invocation is ok by me, though I think a rabbi would have been a good choice too...but given an evangelical, he could have chosen one who has no respect for the environment and who only is hell bent for "rapture." But instead he chose a person who is working hard to make this place on earth a healthier place. Warren's environmental, HIV, and other charitable leadership is admirable.
But Warren is a segregationist. I doubt Obama would have considered a minister who had on their website that Black people need not come to his church. And yet he has offered this big honor to someone who excludes "unrepentant" gay people from his church. I really wonder if Obama realized this was any deeper than just a disagreement about attitudes about gay marriage? I'd like to think Obama was ignorant, because I would be despondent to think Obama would have made this move knowing what Warran's fuller attitudes on GLBT are.
What I dislike about Warran the most is how he is so ignorant and stereotyping of gay people, referring to bestiality and assuming multiple partners. Heck, I hardly know any gay people who aren't monogamous, though I know a whole lot of straight people who have multiple partners. I recognize Warren is doing some good things in his life with regard to charities, but offering this honor to Warran is a real kick in the teeth to gay and lesbian people.
I'm sure Obama has heard about this by now...I just wish he had invited an evangelical flute choir to march in the parade and had an invocation by a rabbi or a UCC minister...I know he couldn't have invited a Unitarian Universalist--that would have been just too inclusive...
I hope this is the last time Obama is rude to my dear gay friends.
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