03/01/08 Pastor Bud's Buzz Pastor Bud’s Buzz,

In like a lion out like a lamb, a remembered phrase comes to mind as I think about a message for the March Jotter. On the other hand your time is valuable. You can research all those potentially interesting tidbits about the history of this month. I suppose I don’t even have to talk about this year’s early celebration of Easter or the fact that St. Patrick’s Day falls in the middle of March.

Many of my Jotter messages deal with global issues with seemingly overwhelming dimensions that can leave us all feeling helpless. This message is very local and has to do with how each of us engages in the wonderfully complex dance of our loving community. March is the 3rd month of our calendar year and is also the word used to describe the orderly movement of troops. The diversity of our community includes diversity about how orderly our movement needs to be. Some of us are comforted by a lot of order. Some of us are comforted by a relaxed casual style where order is not a high priority. We have the challenge of being in community, often in the same physical space. It is in the here-and-now of community that we experience what someone expressed when they said “I love humanity, its people I can’t stand.” We need to find a level of orderliness that works well for all of us, balancing the need to be orderly with the effort required, so that orderliness does not become overly burdensome. As a self governed community we have a lot to say about our direction. As a mostly volunteer community we have a lot to do to make our direction happen. Through the years individuals and groups have taken the time to develop steps that need to be taken, policies and procedures that can guide us and keep us moving in an orderly fashion. Over time we stop following some of those procedures. The procedures no longer fit our changing circumstances or the individuals performing them change and the procedures do not get passed along. Given the complexity of the tasks and the many changes that occur in our circumstances, it is the strength of our compassion for one another that allows us to get along with each other through it all. There are a number of initiatives taking place to help us define procedures and to engage those who are willing to complete the many tasks that keep us moving forward as a loving community.

Part of the canvass effort currently underway is designed to 1) clarify our desired direction, 2) define how we plan to get there and to 3) invite each of us to deepen our connection with our community through acts of service. This March as new life surges all around us, I urge you in the words of Kenneth Patton to "stand on the thrusting edge of creation, stand on the edge of knowledge and dreaming, stand on the brink of being in this moment now, look down the long hill of the past upon the wonder of all that has been and looking forward into the unformed fire of the future, thrust your hand forward into the flame and shape..." our shared vision of what community can be.

Stay tuned

02/01/08 Pastor Bud’s Buzz

As I am writing this, the sub prime mortgage fiasco continues to spiral out of control, the stock market is tanking, and the Military/Industrial/Congressional Complex mired in scandal seems satisfied with the worn out mantra of, “Trust us.”

It’s against this backdrop that 20 or so of our congregation under the leadership of E.D. Mann have volunteered to ask the Members and Friends of our Society to pledge financial support for this coming fiscal year, to become financial stewards of our future.

Many of us are retired and considered to be on “fixed” incomes. At times like this a truly “fixed” income would be a blessing. Most of us are watching our limited assets shrink as our net worth is sucked into the black hole of economic recession, depression, inflation, stagflation, or any other name that is given to the increasing concentrations of wealth and power that has been occurring since World War II with accelerating velocity. Everyone condemns dictatorial regimes that perpetrate genocide. Everyone disapproves of prisoner abuse and consider such tactics as death marches, inhumane atrocities.

Yet, economic genocide, economic abuse and economic death marches are perpetrated on helpless masses all across the Earth and we are unwitting, unwilling collaborators in this systemic injustice and oppression. We feel helpless in distancing ourselves from the wrong doing. Joining the victims by relinquishing our tenuous hold on the middle class strikes us as an empty and pointless gesture; one we are unwilling to take.

What we can do is support a united effort to speak truth to power. We can support local efforts to change the systemby uniting with F.A.I.T.H. which holds local leaders accountable, we can unite with the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of Florida working toward finding solutions for Climate Change and Homelessness. We can add our voice to that of the Unitarian Universalists Association of Congregation speaking out with a prophetic condemnation of unjust exploitation of legal and illegal immigrant and migrant workforces. Those who knowingly condone the increasing concentration of wealth and power because they benefit from it will change only if we unite and give voice to their victims.

I attended an Alliance luncheon a while back at which Gaia Davies said these words of Edward Everett Hale as she lit the chalice:,
I am only one
But still I am one
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something.
And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.

Such determination is essential in the face of overwhelming odds and our unity gives us hope that we can truly make a difference. I am grateful to be a part of this marvelous community. I plan on making a generous financial pledge in its support. I plan on continuing to do “that something that I can do.” Please join me and;

Stay Tuned

01/01/08 Pastor Bud’s Buzz
Happy New Year
We Unitarian Universalists celebrate the fact that our living tradition, draws from many sources. The most recent of those sources to be formally recognized by the Unitarian Universalist Association is the spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature. As Unitarian Universalist we emphasize the primacy of reason. We pride ourselves on our search for the unvarnished truth. But sadly it took many years for the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations to formally acknowledge earth-centered traditions, a designation that includes the religions of many indigenous peoples all over the world as well as traditions that are often called Pagan. Those with a deeper understanding and appreciation of diversity distinguish mong the many groups that often are lumped under the term Pagan. While these ancient traditions often predate Jewish, Christian and Protestant traditions they suffer from discrimination and bigotry as a result of the struggles for power and the literal demonizing of them by some mainline denominations.

Our principles and purposes invite us to respect the inherent worth and dignity of every person. We are challenged to go beyond tolerance for diversity and to seek out and embrace the value that diversity represents.

When I first read a description of people practicing animism by apologizing to a tree before cutting it down for their use, I was charmed by it, but at the same time I felt patronizing of their simple mindedness. They had ascribed personhood to a tree. Through the years I have witnessed the ravaging of natural resources, the clear cutting of old growth forests, the slaughter of whales and other animals to the point of extinction, the pollution of our air and water. I am inclined to believe that if the governments of modern industrialized nations and powerful international corporations had ascribed personhood to these natural entities we might have mustered more compassionate treatment. On the other hand I have seen what human organizations have done to other humans and over and over the results are gruesome, horrific. If there is any point I would make it is this, we must bring our very best reasoning to bear as we discern what primitive impulses are worth preserving and which are to be harnessed and controlled before we obliterate the human species and many other life forms from our precious oasis in the vast lifeless void of space.

We need all the wisdom we can get. WE certainly cannot afford to dismiss the spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions but rather join them in celebrating the sacred circle of life and learn to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

Stay Tuned

12/01/07 Pastor Bud’s Buzz

I’ve been exploring the sources of wisdom listed in our Principles and Purposes as monthly themes in my pulpit presentations. As we move into the Holiday Season, I will be focusing on the fifth source, “Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.” Reasonable folks might consider everything about the holidays, as we celebrate them, idolatry of the mind and spirit.

The image I get in my mind when I think of the act of idolatry is of some religious ritual usually including the burning of incense, recitation of prayers and people bowing toward an imposing statue depicting a mythical creature to which they attribute superior powers.

Members of one religion may condemn members of another religion as practicing idolatry because they worship a different version of god than their own. Early Christians took the meaning of idolatry and applied it to any desire placed before the desire for God.

Americans have been accused of worshiping Hollywood and sports personalities, wealth and their own pleasure and fame. Perhaps Humanists have the right idea in heeding the guidance of reason and the results of science in order to avoid idolatries of the mind and spirit. While humanists are not likely to propose an object for our worship, they have been willing to speak about those things that they value. Some prominent religious humanists drew up a humanist manifesto. Somewhat naively Religious Humanist declared “The time is past for mere revision of traditional attitudes. Science and economic change have disrupted the old beliefs. Religions the world over are under the necessity of coming to terms with new conditions created by a vastly increased knowledge and experience. In every field of human activity, the vital movement is now in the direction of a candid and explicit humanism.” The humanist claim that religious beliefs are, “powerless to solve the problem of human living in the Twentieth Century.” On the other hand they acknowledge, “…through all changes religion itself remains constant in its quest for abiding values, an inseparable feature of human life.”

Religious Humanist affirm the following: The universe is not created and the emergence of man is the result of a continuous process that rejects the dualism of mind and body and that is accompanied by a gradual development of religious culture and civilization. Scientific spirit and method must be used by religion to formulate its hopes and plans. Many isms are obsolete. Nothing human is alien to the religious and the distinction between the sacred and secular can no longer be maintained. Religious Humanists seek the development and fulfillment of the human personality in the here and now. Humanist express their religious emotions in cooperative efforts to promote social well-being and see no uniquely religious emotions or attitudes. We will learn to face the crises of life in terms of our knowledge of its naturalness and probability. Reasonable and manly attitudes will be fostered by education and supported by custom. We assume that humanism will take the path of social and mental hygiene and discourage sentimental and unreal hopes and wishful thinking. Religion must work increasingly for joy in living, religious humanists aim to foster the creative in man and to encourage achievements that add to the satisfactions of life. All associations and institutions exist for the fulfillment of human life. A radical change in methods, controls, and motives must be instituted for the equitable distribution of goods. Affirm life and its possibilities while establishing the conditions.

And an infant was born in a stable.

Stay Tuned

11/01/07 Pastor Bud’s Buzz

Some among us may consider the overall message of Jewish and Christian teachings to be more of a battle cry than a call to radical love. While the message of love woven through Jewish and Christian teachings is echoed in all the major world religions, one can also interpret in all of those religions support for acts of violence.

Our living tradition as congregations of free thinking individuals is to covenant to support each other in the search for truth and meaning. As individuals some of us experience God’s love at work in our lives and we respond by loving our neighbor as ourselves. All of us can be inspired by the acts of selfless love performed by Christians and Jews, people of all religious or non religious persuasion. All of us can be inspired by religious and non religious organizations that strive to love their neighbor and even their enemies as they love themselves.

We Unitarian Universalists say in our Principles and Purposes that our living tradition draws from many sources including Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves. Not all of us can embrace this source without some internal interpretation. As we move into the autumn season we are invited to express our gratitude. Gratitude for what? For being loved? Loved by God? Loved by the Universe? Loved by the abundance of our planet that nourishes us through the labor of others with a plentiful harvest? Loved in the warm gatherings of family and friends who share a common meal? The best way to show that we are grateful for the love of God, the Universe, family and friends, is to love our neighbor and yes even our enemy, for to love our neighbor is to love ourselves.

If there is one prayer that we can all say, it is a prayer of thanksgiving. While we may have different ideas about the source of love for which we are thankful, our grateful response in loving acts toward others celebrates our oneness.

During this thanksgiving season I invite you to open yourself to the love around you, feel loved, and feel grateful. May you be so blessed that you will be able to recite with conviction these words that we sing to the tune Finlandia by Jean Sibelius.

We would be one as now we join in singing our hymn of love, to pledge ourselves anew to that high cause of greater understanding of who we are, and what in us is true. We would be one in living for each other to show to all a new community.

We would be one in building for tomorrow a nobler world than we have known today. We would be one in searching for that meaning which bends our hearts and points us on our way. As one, we pledge ourselves to greater service, with love and justice, strive to make us free.

Stay Tuned

10/01/07 Pastor Bud’s Buzz

As I continue with my pulpit themes on the Sources of Wisdom, October is the third source, “Wisdom from the Worlds Religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life.” I think it was Karl Marx that declared Religion was the opiate of the people. Now, here’s an interesting coincidence. As I sit down on September 19 to write “Pastor Bud’s Buzz” for the October Jotter about religion as a potential source of wisdom and possibly an opiate, the discussion topic for Sunday September 23 will be recreational drugs and I’ve taken a Darvocet, prescribed after a minor dermatology procedure. To clarify, the buzz I refer to in the tile of my piece is the buzz of excitement about what is happening, not a drug induced buzz.

Can religion be both an opiate and a source of wisdom?

Opiates and other potentially addictive agents can: • Relieve anxiety • Change mood • Create feelings of self-confidence • Cause hallucinations • Alter activity levels • Bring unpleasant or painful symptoms when the addictive agent is withdrawn • Cause a preoccupation with running out of the addictive agent.

Wisdom is not measured by standardized intelligence tests. While some say wisdom comes from experience, can’t be taught, and is synonymous with prudence, others see wisdom as a quality that even a child may possess independent of their experience or knowledge. Wisdom is generally recognized as foreseeing consequences and acting to maximize the long-term common good.

Just when I think I have it, wisdom slips away. I end my Jotter piece with “Stay Tuned” because I am convinced that what we should seek in religion is not freedom from pain but the easing of our pain and the strength to continue our pursuit of truth and meaning, the vibrant tension inherent in living the question.

Stay Tuned

09/01/07 Pastor Bud’s Buzz

I haven’t run into anyone who likes failure. We dislike it so much that we sometimes avoid taking action or making an effort because we somehow convince ourselves if we have not tried we cannot fail.

In our Principles and Purposes we say that the living tradition, which we share, draws from many sources: This month my pulpit theme focuses on the second of those Sources: Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love; While these words are a source of wisdom they are also a call to action. And action puts us square on the path to potential failure. Not just quiet unnoticed failure but often a somewhat noisy public failure. The powerful can be very effective at preserving their power. One of the best ways to preserve power is to avoid confrontations with the opposition. By making confrontations painful; economically, politically, socially and even physically as painful as they can, the powerful give those of us called to social activism, sobering second thoughts. At a recent ACLU meeting we viewed a video that the ACLU plans to make a part of one of their Freedom File events October 12 here in our building. That video focused on steps that have been taken to punish dissent in this country, here where freedom of speech is constitutionally protected. The video portrayed the impact of a growing militaristic response to dissent. My reaction to the video was “Do we really want to show this video?” In the video participants in what appeared to be a peaceful demonstration and even some inadvertent bystanders were assaulted by the local police dressed in riot gear and shooting blunt wooden bullets about the size of a large flashlight battery. Among the many injured, one woman was shot in the calf and the damage required surgery to remove flesh that had died from the impact. The surgery left her with a disfigured leg and a deep conviction that she could not and would not risk such a confrontation in the future. Everyday we hear about instances in other parts of the world where dissident groups are brutally attacked often physically maimed or subjected to other forms of violence in a methodical effort to suppress dissent, assert power and destroy freedom.

Many of us as individuals belong to groups that engage in social activism. It takes courage for us to stand on street corners to run the risk of being verbally and perhaps even physically attacked. It takes courage to write letters; send emails and make phone calls as we confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion and the transforming power of love. When we take action we run the risk of failing to make a difference, failing to change the direction set by the powerful. Take heart for we are not only confronting powers we are asserting the essential right to dissent itself, a right and a duty that we must preserve if human kind is ever to achieve its full greatness.

As we move into the fall of the year and renew our commitment to living out our principles and purposes join in our congregation’s search for truth and meaning join in our congregation’s actions for justice, compassion and the transforming power of love.

Stay tuned

08/01/07

Pastor Bud’s Buzz

They say confession is good for the soul. Well, my plans to conquer the Smoky Mountains in “one fell swoop” have come to a compromising end. I am grateful that, at least for now, the mountains did not conquer me in “one fell swoop” (Emphasis on fell.). I have discovered that as advertised the majestic vistas from those verdant peaks do provide room to grow one’s inner spirit. I guess that gives me the best of all worlds. While I did not earn the anticipated bragging rights which might have made me more insufferable, I hope I will never get over the joy of watching butterflies play tumbling tag in the cool breezes at over 4,000 hard earned feet of elevation, around the base of the long abandoned Shuckstack fire tower that overlooks Fontana Dam. The variety of plant life is remarkable, small plants I cannot name, endless arrays of ferns along the shaded mountain ridges. Large stands of Rhododendrons and Mountain Laurel greeting us with blossom strewn tunnels to celebrate our passage.

The postings about aggressive bears at the trail head prompted us to look for markings of bear paws in all the muddy stretches. Besides watching the path was obligatory to keep from stumbling on the stones and roots. My hiking partner, Melodie was taking her turn leading the way on the descent and I thought twice about calling her attention to the paw print I spotted, but I called to her and asked her to take a look. After deciding there was no mistake, it was a bear, we continued on and in moments my fatigue combined with her nervousness about the potential danger opened a gap between us. I could have asked her to slow down but instead I asked, “Do you really want to be that far away from me right now?” As she slowed down, much to both of our relief the trail head where we had started 12 miles earlier, soon appeared before us. Moments after we had gotten to the road another couple emerged from the path we had explored the day before and said they had just seen two bears, one large and the other small. I’m guessing that small bear had left the paw print we had seen on our path.

So as I sit here healing in Ormond Beach with a plan to return for another couple of day hikes before the end of July, and as I think about August and my Jotter message, what did I learn from the mountains. I learned that going up is optional but coming down is obligatory. That at least for me, walking in partnership is easier and more enjoyable than walking alone. I learned that I can often do what looks impossible, if I take it a step at a time and from each small advance look for the next foothold or opportunity. I’ve learned that it isn’t useful to rush when I am uncertain and that it is essential to rest when I am tired. I am grateful that when I lost my balance while climbing over a small tree that had fallen across the narrow rocky path, and as I fell backward helpless under the weight of my pack, I was caught by that same tree like a nurturing parent who sent me on my way to continue my journey and my learning. I realize there were a thousand other times when a misstep could have plunged me over the side with nothing but rocks and tree trunks to eventually stop my fall. I’m grateful for whatever complex combination of thoughts and feelings prompted me to announce to my partner at the end of the second day that I needed to get off the trail. One more night of restless sleep and one more day of rain soaked passage felt like too big a risk to take for myself and for her. For now we are not thru hikers and our section hiking may be a thing of the past. We could become hard core day hikers. We know the joy of carrying just water and some health bars and plan future hikes. And finally, I have once again experienced the ultimate key to happiness. Getting what you want and wanting what you get.

Stay Tuned

07/01/07

Pastor Bud’s Buzz

Well as I am writing this I am soaring thousands of feet above Arizona’s Grand Canyon. My Southwest Airlines plane is heading toward a stop in Oakland, California then onto Portland, Oregon and the UUA General Assembly. There is nothing like flying in a jet to impress on me the interdependence of my existence. All those airplane parts tracked from the point of their manufacture, to assure reliability and failing that, liability. Not that it is particularly consoling to know that if one of these crucial parts fails and we crash someone might get sued for a faulty manufacturing process. Come to think of it, human technology while impressively interdependent is very fragile. It would not take much of a planetary crisis to bring most of our fancy systems crashing to a halt. Consider the impact of the last hurricane and here we are entering another hurricane season that is projected to be a busy one. If all that technology was swept away we most likely would be swept away with it. Maybe some of us might survive. Without the distraction of our modern technology we would really begin to appreciate interdependence at a whole new level.

By the time you read this I may already be hiking on the Appalachian Trail. I’m anticipating that I will have a chance to experience that pervasive interdependence without all that modern distraction. Melodie and I will be walking through an eco system that has been doing its thing for hundreds of thousands of years. I am hoping all that space will give me some room to grow my soul a little bit. Anthropologists claim there is evidence that the human species has been celebrating some type of spirituality for about 40,000 years and celebrating organized religion about 4,000 years. One of the things I value about our particular version of organized religion is that we make an effort to get below the surface of that organizational aspect and connect with the raw spirituality of our human experience. One of the realities that confronts us, if we dare to look below the surface, is that we are on a journey. And like a hike in the Appalachian Mountains, there is some real wisdom in traveling light. Melodie often quotes Gandhi who said we should “live simply, so others might simply live.” I feel blessed to share the journey with you for a little while. As we support each other in the search for truth and meaning and ask those two basic questions “what’s so” and “so what?” I hope your answer to the “what’s so?” question will make you aware of the journey that each of us shares for a little while and that stretches out beyond the horizons of time. I hope your answer to the “so what?” question will involve acting with a deep intellectual and emotional awareness of the interdependence beneath the surface of being.

Stay tuned.

06/01/07

Pastor Bud’s Buzz

It’s June and those leisurely summer days seem to evaporate like a mirage with our approach. I’m going to be celebrating my son’s wedding on June 16, my two brothers and their spouses and one of my sisters are driving down from Michigan to help us celebrate. I will be in the pulpit on Sunday June 17 talking about our 6th UU Principle “The goal of World Community with peace liberty and justice for all.” Then Monday June 18 I will be flying out to Portland Oregon to attend the Ministers Days before the UUA General Assembly. There will be six of us attending from our Congregation. We will make an effort to bring back some of the excitement. June will be a busy month.

While the pace of life can be hectic, there is always that hovering awareness that much of the world struggles under extremely inhumane conditions; often their suffering is the result of human choices, sometimes unenlightened indifference. We could become discouraged in the face of the huge gap between what we promote as the goal of World Community with peace liberty and justice for all and what we know to be the reality in so many places in the world.

I was talking to Bob Mohr the other day and he was telling me about his family history. He said his grandfather and Bob’s uncles once won a tug of war against a team of horses. What they had done was outsmart the horses and their human driver. They knew that the horses would lean into the harness when commanded by the driver and if they held their ground the horses would stop pulling. When they stopped pulling the human team even though not as strong would take advantage of this opportunity to pull the team of horses backwards. Each time the horses stopped pulling Bob’s grandfather and his brothers would take a little more ground and then hold it against the next pull.

When we get discouraged about the strength of the forces that contribute to human suffering and injustice we need to remember to use our creativity to just hold our ground to slow our loses and not to give up. We need to be ready for the opportunity to overcome powerful forces by outsmarting them. We need to bring even more creativity to our struggles than Bob’s grandfather did. Whenever possible we need to avoid opposing forces altogether and think of alternatives that can change the pattern and move us toward a true World Community with peace, liberty and justice for all. Whenever possible we need to join those opposing forces by being in relationship with them and through a deeper communication with them, come to an appreciation of our shared suffering and our common oppression. Grounded in that common understanding perhaps we can all come to appreciate what Martin Luther King Jr. realized when he said that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Stay Tuned

05/06/07

Pastor Bud’s Buzz

As I sit to gather my thoughts I am immersed in the tragic news of thirty three lives taken on a Virginia Tech. college campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. I have just listened to our nations president offer his condolences to the survivors. I experience a deep sorrow and heaviness in my heart. A phrase from the Presidents message sticks in my mind. He reflects that those innocent victims were, “…at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

In the month of May my pulpit themes will explore the meaning of our fifth principle, “The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.” While the lose of human life on this scale is difficult or impossible to comprehend, I still struggle to find meaning in this tragedy and the continuing tragic loss of life that unfolds across this nation and around the world in our cities, towns and villages as countless individuals are caught in the destructive path of a bullet or an explosive device. Most of these innocent victims are where they should be carrying on with their lives, driven by the basic necessities of survival, comforted by the daily obligations of their family and ethnic traditions. What is not as it should be? What is at the wrong place at the wrong time? It is not the innocent victims.

What drives growing numbers to take the lives of the innocent? What dislocation has put these individuals with their destructive intent at the wrong place at the wrong time? Some strike out at the innocent in carefully nurtured fear and rage because they cannot strike out at those who they believe oppress them, destroy them or their way of life. They demonize, and feel compelled to vanquish there enemy at all cost.

Can we follow the roots of this madness to its source? Is there a way to trace the systemic poison of oppression and alienation that feeds their fear and rage? Is there any cure that can stem the tide of this poison and its violence? Or are we helpless in the path of a nameless, faceless tsunami of inadvertence spiked with greed? Will we self destruct in paroxysms of fear and hate well before global warming takes its lethal toll on this planets life? Will these rising threats only numb and blind us more to the indifference and fear that forms the fertile soil where these poison bearing roots find nourishment?

Let’s answer the challenge. What have we to lose? Nurture the audacious hope needed to overcome the cynicism of those who would oppress us by calling us hopeless dreamers? It has been said our failure is not the failure to achieve our dreams but the failure to dream large enough. This radical commitment to destroy the enemy can only be overcome by a radical commitment to love our enemy. One person embracing this kind of radical love can inspire another. A community embracing this kind of radical love can inspire a nation. Imagine what a nation practicing this kind of radical love might achieve? And if loving our enemies is too radical, let’s just treat that person who is radically different from us in loving ways. Imagine.

Stay tuned,

03/23/07

Pastor Bud’s Buzz

During the month of April my pulpit theme is “Search.” It is tied to our Fourth Principle in which we affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning.

A friend of mine sends me articles that deal with issues that he considers may be of interest to me. Often the articles report powerful groups actively interfering with the basic freedom of individuals to search for truth and meaning. One of those articles was by Chris Hedges, and posted on a website called “Truthdig” March 19, 2007 http://www.alternet.org/story/49160/. In Hedges’ article he describes the dynamics of a conflict between Gay and Lesbian groups and what he characterizes as a growing “American Fascism.” He argues that many whose beliefs and lifestyles are considered unacceptable to this American Fascism are being marginalized and driven into the closet.

As Unitarian Universalists engaged in promoting a free and responsible search for truth and meaning I think we need to oppose groups that actively persecute individuals because of their free and responsible search for truth and meaning. The truth and meaning of fascism is vigorously debated on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism where a former Columbia University Professor, Robert O. Paxton contributed the following:

“Fascism may be defined as a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victim-hood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy, and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion… 1. a sense of overwhelming crisis beyond reach of traditional solutions; 2. belief one’s group is the victim, justifying any action without legal or moral limits; 3. need for authority by a natural leader above the law, relying on the superiority of his instincts; 4. right of the chosen people to dominate others without legal or moral restraint; 5. fear of foreign contamination."

Wikipedia continued: “…Fascism is also typified by totalitarian attempts to impose state control over all aspects of life: political, social, cultural, and economic; in the examples given, by way of a strong, single-party government for enacting laws and a strong, sometimes brutal militia or police force for enforcing them. Fascism exalts the nation, state, or group of people as superior to the individuals composing it. Fascism uses explicit populist rhetoric; calls for a heroic mass effort to restore past greatness; and demands loyalty to a single leader, leading to a cult of personality and unquestioned obedience to orders (Führerprinzip).”

There is a slogan used my many, “Freedom isn’t free.” Sometimes promoting and affirming the free and responsible search for truth and meaning is expressed through responsible dissent against the forces that stand in the way of that search. Have you participated in any responsible dissent lately? Is it now or never?

Stay Tuned

02/28/07 Pastor Bud’s Buzz

I come from up north where winter is usually accompanied by a blanket of snow and where the arrival of spring is pretty dramatic. While the last snowdrifts melt away, longer days break the icy grip of winter. The frozen surface of Lake Huron begins to crack and the St. Clair River fills with what looks like a rapidly moving glacier. Here in Florida the seasonal change is more subtle. The arrival of spring, the resurgence of life and renewed growth can almost sneak up on us. During March my pulpit themes will be talking about “Growth.” Growth whether it is in nature or in a UU congregation happens when the circumstances encourage it. We in the Sunbelt even with the increasing frequency of hurricanes continue to be part of a major population migration and we experience first hand the good, the bad and the ugly of growth. There are those who say because of our circumstances growth is inevitable and the only thing we can hope to do is manage how we grow striving to preserve the quality of life that drew us to this beautiful part of the world.

When it comes to congregational growth, however growth is not inevitable. There are plenty of UU Congregations that stay well under 100 members and there are plenty of reasons that congregations stay small. When congregations grow it usually means they are doing some things that encourage growth. Even if a congregation is in an area where the population is growing, if the congregation does not want growth and fails to adjust to what growth brings they probably won’t grow and they may even go into decline. We are growing and in some ways like the arrival of spring in Florida our growth is subtle and can sneak up on us. Our values encourage us to be mindful about living and that extends to being mindful about growing. We may not want to focus on adding to our membership just to add to our membership, but most of us are pleased with what we have discovered in this community and we want to share our experience with our family and friends we care about. Our enthusiasm for being a part of this community is a major factor in our growth. We strongly supported the Uncommon Denomination and continue to use some of the advertising materials from their campaign. We reviewed the material that stated we needed to be ready to embrace visitors and help them make a connection with us at those meaningful discussions, Sunday celebrations, great potlucks, social action events and more.

The Connection Groups we have begun are one of the ways we want to make sure that the quality of community life that drew us will continue to be a part of what we share with new members. On Thursday February 22, we held an appreciation event for the many volunteers that help make our community special. We said thank you to each other for being generous with our time and energy so that we all can have the experience of being cared for. We met in groups to review the various tasks that need to be completed to make that good experience continue. We identified some one as the person who coordinates each separate process or task that weaves together to make up our total experience. Just as we need to scootch down to make room for our guests at a service we also need to take steps to make room for the new gifts that each new member and friend brings to us. As we grow together; we grow.

Stay tuned

01/28/07

During the month of February the pulpit theme will be the second UU Principle of Justice, Equity, and Compassion in human relations.

Our congregation’s involvement with F.A.I.T.H. (Fighting Against Injustice Toward Harmony) is a powerful example of our justice ministry. F.A.I.T.H. had set a goal of getting 300 people to attend the Annual Assembly at Temple Israel on January 22 to select the issues that we would focus on in the coming year. In previous planning meetings our team projected that UUSDBA might have 15 members present. When 30 members of our congregation showed up that night I could not contain my pride. It was efforts like that by our congregation and many other congregations that resulted in 400 people showing up on a very rainy night to do Justice work. Now the issue committees will be trained and begin their research in preparation of a statement of the particular focus we will take to address Crime and Drugs and continue our work on Affordable Housing. If you're moved to contribute to this important work let Sharon Rich, Bill Ternent or me know and we will help you get involved.

Some of you may know that I have been visiting inmates at the Tomoka Correctional Institution. It is a Federal Prison located just west of Daytona Beach off of Tiger Bay Rd. The prisoner I was originally visiting has been transferred from Tomoka CI to Dade CI. I regularly still communicate with him. While he was at Tomoka he was featured in a documentary that is being made about Jewish Prisoners. The person that is putting that documentary together, Rhonda Moskowitz has a web site that shows a three minute clip including Charles Johnson leading a Seder meal. I’m off camera during the filming and helped by bringing in the food that they shared as part of the Seder and as part of more joyful feast that follows. You can access the video at the following site.

http://jewishprisoners.com/

12/03/06 - Pulpit Presentation Highlights

I started with a reading from "Order Out of Chaos" by Ilya Prigogine and Isabelle Stengers. The authors quote Moscovici’s description of the changes going on in the sciences today:

"Science has become involved in this adventure, our adventure, in order to renew everything it touches and warm all that it penetrates—the earth on which we live and the truths which enable us to live. At each turn it is not the echo of a demise, a bell tolling for a passing away that is heard, but the voice of rebirth and beginning, ever afresh, of mankind and materiality, fixed for an instant in their ephemeral permanence. That is why the great discoveries are not revealed on a deathbed like that of Copernicus, but offered like Kepler’s on the road of dreams and passion."

At the end of my presentation I read a poem by David Whyte author of "Fire in the Earth"

It doesn't interest me if there is one God
Or many gods.
I want to know if you belong – or feel abandoned;
If you know despair
Or can see it in others.
I want to know
If you are prepared to live in the world
With its harsh need to change you;
If you can look back with firm eyes
Saying “this is where I stand.”
I want to know if you know how to melt
Into that fierce heat of living
Falling toward the center of your longing.
I want to know if you are willing
To live day by day
With the consequence of love
And the bitter unwanted passion
Of your sure defeat.
I have been told
In that fierce embrace
Even the gods
Speak of God.

~ David Whyte ~

I concluded with a comment by Tom Robbins from his book "Still Life with Woodpecker." He says we have a choice to make our mantra in life "Yum" or "Yuck."

12/01/06 Pastor Bud’s Buzz

In the traditions of many world religions and clearly in Christian traditions, this time of year the focus is on preparing for God’s arrival. The period of longing and preparation know as Advent gives way to the celebration of the mystery of the Incarnation through which God takes on our human nature. While the truths expressed in this mystery so central to Christian faith are debated, there is a central belief that can be traced through most Christian and non Christian religions. It is a belief that is also honored by those who consider themselves humanists, atheists and agnostics. Simply stated there is a belief that the world can be made a more desirable place of peace through acts of love and compassion. Our congregation’s vision proclaims, “Love is the spirit of this Society and service is its aim. To dwell together in peace and freedom, to seek the truth, and to help one another. This is our goal.” Love impacts us when it finds expression in loving actions. We celebrate the spirit of this season through our loving acts toward one another and toward the entire interdependent web of existence of which we are a part.

Shared Ministry is a way of looking at that love and compassion as a ministry. The phrase Shared Ministry has a history that goes back beyond the development of “Organized Religion.” In some ways Shared Ministry is simply servant leadership, impacting others through service. Shared Ministry honors the many ways individuals serve one another, the many ways they minister to one another. As each member discovers how they can best serve others these individual ministries weave together to form a beautiful tapestry, a protective cloak and a supportive web. Shared Ministry is the realization that there is no hierarchy of ministries in which some ministries are more valuable than others. Everything we do within the community to promote and affirm our principles can be seen as an act of ministry. This support we give to one another strengthens us and allows us to minister to the larger community at many different levels.

We’re beginning to organize “Connection Groups” here at UUSDBA. I have mentioned them a few times from the pulpit. These groups will gather either here at the church or in someone’s home either during the day or in the evening. The hope is that as many of the members as possible will participate and make a deeper connection with the other members of that small 5 to 11 members as they gather together, light a candle or chalice and then take a few minutes to share with the group what is happening in their life. After what we call the “check-in” the facilitator will introduce a topic for discussion. After the discussion the facilitators will ask members to comment on their experience in the meeting then the flame will be extinguished ending the gathering.

There is a map in the hallway across from my office. Please take the numbered pin next to your name , locate where you live on this map and mark it with that pin. If you do not find your name on the list or cannot find your location on the map please let me know. We will be starting with three of these groups and as they grow we will form others with the hope that eventually everyone will have an opportunity to participate once a month in one of these “Connection Groups.” Through these groups we can give expression to our vision, “love is the spirit of this society” and through loving acts we can make this world a better place of peace.

I hope you have happy and meaningful holidays.

Stay Tuned.

11/01/06 Pastor Bud’s Buzz

I’m reminded of an experience I had a couple of times in my youth. I was out in nature on the top of a hill and as I started down the hill I gradually gave into the force of gravity and my fast walk turned into a run that picked up speed until I was moving so fast that I could no longer get my feet out in front of me fast enough and I went down on my belly. I am here to tell, because in one instance the hill was really a tall sand dune on the shores of Lake Michigan and my fall left me uninjured with fine sugary sand in every imaginable fold of me and the clothing I was wearing. The other time I pulled that stunt I was on a night hike at Boy Scout Camp and did my belly flop when I hit the bottom of the hill where the ground leveled out. I had absorbed a lot of my momentum by the time I went down and I remember feeling grateful that I had fallen because as I lay there getting my wits about me, I was looking over the edge of a small creek. Those who were running ahead of me had continued on over the creek across a rustic bridge. In the dark away from the few flashlights at the front of the pack of scouts I had not seen the end of the hill coming nor had I seen the creek or the bridge.

Why these stories from my youth? Well I have not run down a hill out of control in many, many years. I hope I have learned that lesson of physics, something to do with objects in motion tend to remain in motion. What I still do not seem to have learned is that there is a corollary of that law that applies to motion in my daily life. Perhaps you’re a little like me. In our desire to get a little more done we set a pace that puts us on the edge of being out of control. We barely manage to get our feet out in front of us, barely manage the details of our life and the whole precarious momentum of it causes quite a crash when something unexpected throws us off of our stride.

The way to avoid this danger is to take more measured steps and to apply the breaks consistently not giving in to the exhilaration of going just a little bit faster, getting just a little bit more done. Avoiding the rush is the sensible thing to do, but then it is the rush that draws us in. We all need to be able to say “no” and if we find that difficult, we need to say “let me think about it.”

As we celebrate Thanksgiving and begin the long holiday season, take a moment to think about the rush. Ask yourself; “Am I leaving a little margin in my pace for the unexpected?” While life is ultimately all about learning to fall, let’s slow down and pace ourselves. We can learn most of life’s lessons without having to take a “crash” course.

Stay tuned

10/01/06 Pastor Bud’s Buzz,

As we move into the autumn season here in Florida the signs of seasonal change are subtle like the gentle, welcomed nudge of an old friend who has been away and now returns. The first hint of coolness brings a smile to our face. Farming ancestors or connections with more ancient food gathering makes us grateful for the abundance of the Earth. We feel ourselves open to the mystery of a higher power that for the moment makes our corner of the Universe a friendly welcoming place. We strive to echo that welcoming in our faith community through expressions of radical hospitality. We gather often to share food and offer comfort to one another as we pause in life’s journey.

I extend an invitation to those of you who are members or friends of this faith community and who do not regularly attend our Sunday morning celebration of community, come join us. We need your help to become our truest selves. We need your diversity; we need your special presence to enjoy the fullness of our hospitality.

I extend an invitation to those of you who come and have not yet signed the membership book, deepen your involvement by making the formal commitment to support one another in the search for truth and meaning. Help create our direction as we face the challenges of growth, become a voting member of this caring community whose faith is grounded not in a single creed but in a single covenant to embrace the other with compassion whenever and wherever they are encountered.

I extend an invitation to those of you who are members and attend our Sunday service to explore an important new level of connection that can sustain us in our shared journey as we embrace new members and friends. We will be having our Semiannual Congregational Meeting this month and with that meeting we will begin a network of neighborhood meetings once each month scheduled at various times of the day to accommodate schedules and ease the burden of travel. These meetings will have a simple format and agenda. We will light a candle or chalice, we will take time to “check in” letting others know a little about what is happening in our lives and then discuss a topic shared by all the groups that month. At the end of the meeting we will have an opportunity to speak about the experience and extinguish the light. The whole experience should take 90 minutes These “Connection” meetings will be an opportunity to get to know each other at a deeper level than is possible in the hospitality of Sunday morning. Those congregations who have provided opportunities for this level of connection have consistently reported that they have grown more vital and that their community life has become richer and more meaningful. Many of you have experienced something like this deeper connection through “interest” or “affinity” groups or through involvement on committees and related meetings. These “Connection” meetings will create that opportunity more consistently without the burden of having a task beyond the meeting itself. You will be hearing more about how you can be included in one of these meetings. You may even want to be a meeting host. If so give me a call or send an email and I will let you know how you can help support this important initiative.

Thanks for journeying together on the path.

Stay Tuned

Pastor Bud

09/01/06 Pastor Bud’s Buzz

Buzz, buzz, buzz. We’re still in the dog days of summer but some of that buzz you hear isn’t cicadas, tree frogs or crickets. It’s the sound of activity coming from our caring community. Once upon a time UU congregations and their ministers took the summer off. No more. As we swing into September we are having a number of events planned in those hot and humid summer months. You will see evidence of the continuing development of our RE program. Summer attendance at Sunday Services has been remarkable and with the return of folks from cooler climes we may soon start breaking records. Some Sunday soon our brand new sanctuary seating, the result of much consultation and consensus building, may surprise you. The sparkle of freshly washed windows will add to our enjoyment as we come together to celebrate our special form of community. As you will see mentioned elsewhere in this newsletter we have some special Sunday programs that will make the rest of the year more meaningful.

On September 10 you will have an opportunity to hear from some of our members who attended the UUA’s General Assembly in St. Louis. Attending GA is an eye-opening discovery and we will be sharing some of that discovery on the 10th.

On the 17th we will be celebrating our annual in gathering. Traditionally this has been a time when members brought water back from their summer travels and shared briefly as they commingled that water as a celebration of how as a community we bring our richness together and create something that is truly greater than the sum of our parts. This year we are taking this ingathering a step further. We hope to highlight all the activities that take place supported by our community and to give all of us an opportunity to bring our personal talents and gifts, our unique passion to make a difference and blend them together so that all of our individual rivulets build an awesome river. By discovering our own gifts and our passion for making a difference and combining them with the gifts and passions of others we celebrate a faith in the perfectibility of human existence and our role as co creators of the Universe. This is a faith I can embrace. Joined together this shared faith becomes a force that like a powerful river can truly move mountains.

On a personal note, my partner Melodie Jo Conroy asked me to let you know how much she appreciates all your expressions of caring. She is on the road to recovery from her Bunion operation and you helped carry her through the frustrations of having to stay off her feat.

I am grateful to be a part of this very special community that strengthens my buzz.

Stay tuned.

08/01/06 Pastor Bud’s Buzz

As I am putting my thoughts together for the August Jotter, I am also thinking about a workshop on “Pastoral Care Teams” that I agreed to provide for Buckman Bridge UU Society in Jacksonville on Saturday, August 5. I joined this UU congregation here in Ormond Beach in1993. In 1997 I followed a job to Jacksonville and became a member of BBUUS. In December 2003 I accepted an invitation to become your part-time minister. My pulpit theme for the month of August is “Compassion.” It is my compassion or something I have labeled “compassion” that prompts me to provide a workshop on “Pastoral Care Teams” in my “spare time.” Compassion” according to the dictionary is a sympathetic consciousness of another’s distress together with a desire to alleviate it. Rooted in our innate capacity to associate certain voice tones, body language, facial expressions, etc. with certain emotions, initial empathy turns to compassion when we recognize what another wants and help them achieve it. This can all be straightforward and rewarding for everyone involved. There are probably sufficient resources in the world so that every human being can lead a satisfying life. The reality of human misery occurs because many of our objects of desire cannot be achieved or attained. Those who are unhappy find themselves wanting something they cannot have or having something they do not want. It is my experience that Unitarian Universalism encourages its members to gain insights regarding their desires and as they move toward some degree of enlightenment, develop the strength to change what needs to be changed, the courage to accept what cannot be changed and the wisdom to know the difference. In that spirit a pastoral care team, a pastor, anyone of us in search of serenity can become a personification of that prayer, inviting those we contact to live that serenity prayer by our example. I hope in that spirit of serenity you will volunteer to help one another as we get better and better at changing the things that need changing, accepting the things that cannot be changed and in our collective wisdom knowing the ever changing difference between the two.

Stay Tuned

07/01/06 Pastor Bud’s Buzz

I am sitting in the kitchen of my brother Mike and his wife Julie. It is early and the Sun is just hitting the treetops of his neighbor as it comes up over the woodland of his small Southeast Michigan country home. Birds are flying over in what seems like a solitary commute drawn by some distant destination. I realize that the deer standing at the edge of the lawn has held still too long and is obviously a decoy or statue. I know that I have missed my deadline for getting this Jotter article to Betty Green, but I take a chance that she may be able to work another of her last minute miracles even though she is working from her Denmark vacation home on the other side of the world. I have, what I consider, a plausible excuse. After the service on Sunday June 18, Father’s Day, I left Ormond Beach, Florida and drove my Mini Cooper S for two days to St. Louis, Missouri to attend Ministry Days, traditionally held before the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly for many years. I had that sense of isolation I get when I have completed a long solitary road trip. St. Louis is unfamiliar to me. When I finally gathered with my fellow UU ministers I recognized many of their faces, but I did not share the easy collegiality that I saw unfolding all around me and I felt even more alone. This isolation and being with three hundred UU ministers who have dedicated their lives to serve the UU movement leaves me feeling emotional. I have a conversation with a minister who has traveled to be with his colleagues. He is in his 90’s and says he is dying; that he is wanting to die. He feels he has completed his life’s work and health problems make life burdensome. He is cautiously ready to die. As the morning worship service unfolds a tear trickles down my cheek. I am now softened sufficiently and I drink deeply from the spiritual well spring of this intentional loving community. From daybreak to past sunset I attended workshops and meetings. I join the impromptu choir and continue to nurture my soul even as I share the gift of music. By Wednesday I am eager to greet the six members of my congregation who have generously chosen to attend General Assembly so that they could bring back the richness of the many workshops to benefit our own loving intentional community back in Ormond Beach. On Friday I travel onto Michigan for a family wedding. This spiritual pilgrimage has worked its magic. My buzz is stronger. I am feeling tuned once again.

Stay tuned.

06/01/06 Pastor Bud’s Buzz

Last month I shared some thoughts about what it means for Unitarian Universalists to be in community and some of the initiatives we are taking. One way to describe what we are doing as a community is to say we are organizing. Someone once said in an attempt at humor that they were against organized religion and that’s why they had become a Unitarian Universalist. If we smile at these words it’s perhaps because we admit there is an element of truth in that bit of humor. But that does not mean that individual members of Unitarian Universalism are necessarily disorganized. We are like most groups of individuals. Some of us are highly organized and some of us are highly disorganized and most of us fall somewhere in between those extremes. Unitarian Universalism as a denomination is not disorganized. But given the tendency to question authority a congregation of Unitarian Universalists will not be easily organized by any individual member not even by its leadership. Does that make us disorganized? It could, if it was not for the fact that while we resist being organized by the influence of any single individual we are also able to appreciate the importance of functioning in an organized manner in order to meet the needs of members and just as important in order to have a positive impact on the larger community. Without organization, without coordinated effort, we could accomplish very little. The root meaning of the word “organize” is derived from the Greek word organo which literally means tool or instrument. Like a tool, the organs of the body are differentiated structures consisting of cells and tissue that perform some specific function in and for the body. Organizing is what we do when we align our energies. Organizing allows us as a community to accomplish tasks. We are reluctant to blindly follow a leader but while we resist being organized by anyone, we self organize when there is a task that we agree is worthy of being accomplished. Our ability to self organize is particularly impressive because each of us is a leader or a follower depending on the needs of the moment. Oh, there are times when we fail to shift as gracefully as we could, but this ability to be both effective leaders and effective followers and switch as needed is definitely one of our strengths. This ability has to do with the mindfulness that we bring to everything that we do.

Thank you for being an intentional leader and follower you are the strength of this marvelous community.

Stay tuned,

05/01/06 Pastor Bud’s Buzz

Recently, some of us have been thinking about what it means for us to be a community and how we give expression to our principles and purposes in the way we do community. It is partly because of the way we are in relationship with one another that we are attracting visitors and adding new members. We enjoy being together even when getting together involves a good deal of time and effort. We talk about the good times we have when we are with our friends and we invite them to come and find out what it feels like when we gather for an event like a potluck or a picnic or a Sunday discussion followed by our Sunday Service and our time for hospitality.

We’ve been thinking about our community and the impact that growth is likely to have on our experience of community. We see changes occurring as a result of our growth and we realize we need to take steps to manage the consequences of growth so we can preserve those qualities that drew us here and nurtured our participation. We are taking steps to make sure that the way we do community continues to give expression to our principles and purposes. The Board of Directors is planning a retreat to have a conversation about what they consider to be the needs of m