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October 16, 2004
Pastoral letter from Rev. Sinkford
October 2004
Dear Friends:
Since our congregations opened their doors for the new church year last month, they have been ministering in a deeply divided nation. The United States seems to have vanished beneath the battle lines drawn between blue states and red states, conservatives and liberals, Democrats and Republicans.
Most destructive and divisive in this political campaign is its tone of fear and fundamentalism—the notion that there is only one way to be religious, only one holy scripture worthy of being followed. Only one way to be patriotic. Only one way to be a family. And, sadly, only one way to be an American.
We religious liberals share our pews with those who do not share our theology. Liberal Christian, Jew, humanist, Buddhist, Pagan -- all find a home in our UU congregations. We know pluralism as a blessing, and our lived experience, that our differences need not divide us, is a great gift that we can offer this campaign-scarred nation.
Jason Shelton, a UU minister and director of music at our congregation in Nashville, Tennessee, wrote a wonderful hymn this year. He reminds us that when we stand on the side of love, we embody healing virtues:
The promise of the Spirit
faith, hope, and love abide
And so every soul
is blessed and made whole
The truth in our hearts is our guide.
We are standing on the side of love.
My friends, after the wrenching divisions of this campaign season, we need that blessing and that wholeness. In this spirit, I offer a prayer, in the hope that we may each play a part in the healing we all need:
Spirit of Life and Love,
Be with us now in prayer.
We seek the blessing and wholeness that come
>From knowing we are bound to one another.
Let faith, hope and love abide with us.
May we open our hearts, finding there the discipline
To avoid stridency,
Which deepens not understanding
But widens the chasms between us.
May we open our hearts, finding there the courage
To join our hands with other people of faith
With whom we do not always agree,
Knowing that to clasp hands with others is to extend our reach farther
Than we ever could alone.
May we open our hearts, finding there humility,
Knowing that many who disagree with us
Are grounded in a faith
As deep as our own.
May we always acknowledge and honor the humanity
of those with whom we disagree.
May we remember what religion is:
a binding together of that which has been sundered.
For in this remembering, we lay wide the possibilities for reconciliation and healing.
Amen.
Dear friends, as Americans, there is more that unites us than divides us, and there can be but one common destiny for this nation.
So let us stand purposefully on the side of love. The message of fear has been trumpeted throughout this election season. The message of love is quieter, but it is the antidote to that fear. Let us do what we can to help this quieter message be heard. And let us all do our part to bless and make whole a country wounded by partisan conflict and weary of division.
In faith,
Rev. William G. Sinkford
President
Unitarian Universalist Association
(A video version of this letter is also available - click on the link at http://www.uua.org/president/041013pastoral.html). Rev. Sinkford has produced a message for young people; it, and a video version of that message, can also be found on the UUA website: http://www.uua.org/president/041013young.html
Posted by cathy at 02:10 PM | Comments (0)
October 12, 2004
A Grand Celebration
Sunday October 10th was a sunny beautiful Fall day, a perfect day for a celebration. Usually, when you work for weeks to plan an event, you know that something will eventually not work out as you had planned. It may rain on the parade day, the wedding cake will be dry, or only a handful of guests arrive for your party. You learn to make the best out of it even with these unexpected surprises.
So I was pleasantly surprised when everything turned out better than expected for our 50th Anniversary Kick-off celebration. Not only was it a beautiful day, but the attendance far exceeded our expectations! It was wonderful to see the sanctuary filled to capacity, with enough people sharing in singing that we filled the space with sounds to equal the Mormon Tabernacle Choir!
It was so very nice to see the response to our call for members and friends to share in this event whether it was the sign dedication, the art display, the free food, appreciation for Nana, or the 50th that brought everyone to HUUC that day, it was a wonderful experience.
The congratulations to the committee keep coming and it feels really good to be appreciated and to share those thanks with all the people who made it happen. I would like to thank them here individually, but I also applaud all of you who made it a successful day by participating. It would not have been the same without each of you.
The 50th Anniversary Committee would like to thank the following people for helping on the 50th Kick-off event:
Nana’ Kratchovil, Nancy Witt Johnson, Jessica Sheldon, Jackie McDonald, Judy Root, Jean Scarbrough, Linda Riehl, Marcia Hovey Wright, Cathy Kaufman, Leo Szost, Suzanne Meier-Szost, Andy Fink, Ike Stephenson, Jessica Sheldon, Loretta Vandenende, Pieter Vandenende, Bill Wright, Jim Stier, Shawn Willson, Ann English Rappoport, Beth Spencer, James Messick, Adde Lou Garter, Tonya Rund, Barb Exton, Marv Johnson, Marian McIntyre, and Ruth Berlow.
We look forward the the continuation of the celebration in the next six months cumulating on April 23 and 24 with another special event with speaker Gini Courter.
Congratulations HUUC!
Cathy Kaufman
Posted by cathy at 01:10 PM | Comments (0)
October 11, 2004
Good Sign for HUUC
Reverand Nana Kratochvil speaks at the unveiling of HUUC's New Sign. This was part of the kick off of the celebration of HUUC's 50th anniversary.
The new sign helped HUUC get off to a postive start of celebrating 50 years of 'Open Door, Open Hearts & Open Minds'
Posted by harboruu at 12:52 PM | Comments (0)