Forst Worth, Texas
I’m sitting here at Billy Miner’s Saloon with three other ministers, chatting away about this and that, waiting for the reception for Professional Days to begin. I decide to ask them: What’s the future of Unitarian Universalism? Here are their responses.
Michelle Favreault: “I want to find out what Mike Durrall has to say in his workshop tomorrow [at Professional Days]. I was interested to hear that he thinks ministers in their forties will be the last generation to serve UU congregations, and as a UU minister in my thirties I’m intrigued by that question.”
Alice Syltie: [she laughs, then gets serious] “Somebody in my congregation said she didn’t know what we are about, she didn’t understand Unitarian Universalism any more. She thought she did once, but not any more. I want to hear what the Commission on Appraisal has to say on that.”
Forrest Gilmore: “Doughnuts, and rock-and-roll.” I ask, do you want to say more about that? [he laughs] “I’ll stand on that.”
One of the best things about General Assembly (and Professional Days which preceeds it) is the chance to ask questions like this, and get into long conversations with smart people who care about our faith.
uuaga05
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We’re in the midst of a great war involving in great part the hijacking of a great religion: Islam, because of failures among Islamic clergy to reconcile faith with modernity.
We’re in the midst at home of rapid technological change forcing rethinking of thoughts on when live begins, when it ends, who should decide.
A liberal religion that mediates faith and society, and that’s not afraid to proclaim faith, offers a lot to the world.
We stumble on taking pot shots at conservatives and fundamentalists when we should be offering solutions to people’s problems. We worry too much about seperation of faith from civil society when in fact politician’s greatly need people of faith.
You seldom here a variant on “I was lost, and now I’m saved” at a new UU class. It’s mostly a gripe about authoritarians at a past church.
We can actually offer a sort of salvation and the need is certainly there. We need to figure out how to share it.
Comment from bill67998 – 6/22/05 5:39 PM
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geez… feel free to correct the typos Dan…end of the day I get blogger’s dyslexia….
bill
Comment from bill67998 – 6/22/05 5:40 PM
[Administrator’s comment: typos corrected]
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Dan: Thanks for the reports. If you attend the Durrall workshop I would be interested in any report(s). I believe he is suggesting that we are in our last daze ONLY if we don’t CHANGE some of our ways–especially creating an outward focus for our congregations. His, The Almost Church is an interesting challenge which has stirred far too little interest amongst us in my sense of things.
As for Alice’s concerns–I am just now reading Engaging Our Theological Diversity and I am not so sure that the whole of the COA isn’t in the same boat with her “somebody”–the COA may not understand Unitarian Universalism anymore! But then what can we expect from a report based on a very small number of lay folks and even fewer clergy who cared enough to fill out that questionaire or attend the regional meetings.
Carry on oh Master of greasy burgers and frothy beer.
Cheerfully, Roger Kuhrt
Comment from abraxas1941 – 6/22/05 7:11 PM
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Roger — I missed Mike’s presentation during Professional Days, unfortunately. But from what I heard, most of what he said is an extension of his work in “The Almost Church,” and he also writes about it in his occasional print publication, “The New UU Voice.” I’ll try to get subscription information on the “Voice” — actually, I’ll try to get Mike to join the Web world, and put it online.
Bill — Typos? Oh, you mean like me calling Fort Worth “Fort Wroth”?
Comment from danlharp – 6/24/05 9:54 PM