Unitarian Universalist Congregation East

May 29 News and Notes

икониToday Kathy spoke to us about our “Calling”  using Frand Capra’s  ”Its a Wonderful Life” as a metaphor.  This is the movie where the clever but nutty Clarence the guardian angel convinces George Bailey that his life was not a failure.

To what extent do we get to choose our own calling?  George Bailey has big plans to see the world and to build things.  But his aspirations weren’t enough to keep him from saving the town in its hour of need.  He, aided and abetted by his new wife, Mary, save the town from ruining the “Building and Loan” in a bank panic and he never does get out into the world to make his mark.  He spends his life saving the saving the town through running the Building and Loan even though his aspiration was to leave and build things somewhere else.

There is a theory called an Acorn theory that says we are born with a seed inside of us that gives us the ability to become what we are to become.  This is a key element of Budist, Mormon and Hindu thought… that we have a destiny that we must nurture and embrace.  But, contrary to that,  it is said that a man is born many men, but dies only one (attributed to Martin Heidegger.)

Kathy introduced another theory that the soul alters aspirations and achievements, and another that our circumstances introduce limitations.  Winston Churchill was sick as a child, for example, and he gained his deep understanding of people through the books he read as a child.  In George Bailey’s case, his father dies and there is no one to take over the Building and Loan if George does not do it.

Often we do not like limitations being put on us, but often the limitation is a blessing. You may know someone with lots of talent that never settles down to accomplishing things because they are always chasing off in another direction.  Or as Harry Nillson put it when he described the troubles of Oblio, the pointless child… a point in every direction is the same as no point at all.

Your calling is not necessarily your vocation.  The final 10 minutes of the final Oprah show was devoted to Oprah Winfrey imploring everyone to take their own individual point of light and use it to illuminate their individual piece of the world.  Your point of light may be tied to your job, but it is just as likely that your calling is what happens in your life when you are occupied doing something else.

“The truth is that when we are summoned, it is not because we are great or special, but because we can give of ourselves to the norld in some way.” – David Spangler

Joys concerns, and announcements:  The new parking lot should be going in this week.  Next Saturday is John Martin’s ordination.  The ceremony will happen at 2PM June 4 in Belleville.   John’s will be speaking to our congregation on Sunday under the topic:  The Gospel according to John.   Gordon and Elizabeth want to start a walking group in Blacklick Park on Sunday afternoons.

The children’s story was “The Pea Blossom.”  It is about a pea that does not get to chose its destiny, but is happy because it was open to the possibilities of the universe.

As always,

Rick

May 8 News and Notes

Today Bob F. spoke to us about Egypt.  He began with a wonderful children’s story about how you explain to your children how you were able to defeat a ferocious lion.

The core of the ancient Egyptian religion is balance of truth and right.  The duality of the country – split as it was between the Upper Nile and the Lower Nile regions reflect this.  the tension between the brothers Horace and Seth reflect this as well.  They validate each other.  You can’t have a good one without having a bad one as counterbalance.

Egyptian temples were repositories for Icons, not places where worship services were held.  We know very little about the religion because of the Roman influence to destroy the ancient culture.  It had survived invasions for many thousands of years before the Romans got their hands on the place.

An interesting rediscovery of the ancient beliefs comes from the wall art.  When you die, your heart is weighted down by the bad things you have done… sins if you prefer.  In order to pass to the happy place  (the fields of Yaaru) you must have a heart that is no heavier than a feather.  An interesting way of seeing  judgement day.

Other interesting aspects are the Egypian antecedents to Jesus.  Horace was the son of a spirit father and earthly woman.  He went to the desert and faced his dark side there.  I also thought it was interesting that the balance of good and evil in Egypt is reflected in Christian thought in subtle ways.  The dark side is required to counterbalance the good side in both.  Jesus could not have become Jesus afterall, had Judas not been there to start the ball rolling toward the Jesus’s capture. 

Today was Standing Women day.  We had a wonderful story of the Standing Women depicted for us.  So many hats, too.

Board meeting next Friday at 7:00.  Every church member can attend… and is encouraged to attend.

Rick

May 1 News and Notes

Today Gordon spoke to us about Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826).  Jefferson’s early writings focus on social experimentation.   What are the rights of man in relation to the rights of the King?  Do governments rule by the consent of the people or by consent of God?  Do Kings have the right to dictate that the people must worship in a specific religion?  (Hint:  Read the Declaration of Independence.  Governments stand by consent of the people.)

When Jefferson attempted to start a national university, he wanted reason informed by experience to be its guiding principle.

Jefferson considered himself a Christian but he had read Priestly’s History of the Corruption of Christianity  by Joseph Priestly.  Many of Priestley’s was a supporter of the concept of deism and comparative religion.[2] The book shocked and appalled many readers, primarily because it challenged basic Christian orthodoxies, such as the divinity of Christ and the Virgin Birth. Priestley wanted to return Christianity to its “pure” form by eliminating the “corruptions” which had accumulated over the centuries.

We had a spirited discussion of Jefferson afterward.  It being May day, the subject of the rights of Labor were introduced.  International labor issues were compared with the slavery of Jefferson’s day.  Elizabeth pointed out that the benefits we get from manufactured goods where the workers are treated so poorly is much like supporting slavery.  We benefit from a labor market that pushes people into such poor circumstances that they live under. 

Inevitably, the subject of Jefferson’s hipocracy came up.  Jefferson was a dreamer who’s life did not quite achieve the lofty dreams that he wrote on paper.  But, at least we have the benefit of Jefferson’s lofty dreaming.  No one else at the time was suggesting that all men were created equal.  We can appreciate the dreamer, and look past the part where he fell short of accomplishing his own dream.

Announcements:  Next week is the observance of Standing Women.  See standingwomen.org for an explanation.  We will stand silently in the parking lot.  Bring a bell.  June is election month for the congregation.  Nominate your neighbor, otherwise I think they are going to draft me.  Horay for all the people who helped saw up the big tree that fell over in the back of the house.

April 3 News and Notes

ikoniJim spoke to us about the power of positive thinking.  We took turns talking about positive and negative attitudes and how the attitudes affect the outcome.  Gordon believes that a positive attitude gives you energy to follow through.  However, he pointed out that a positive attitude is not the same as a positive direction.  Enthusiasm can carry you to victory even if the victory is in the wrong direction.

Do you follow your bliss, or learn to love what you have to do.

Elizabeth said if you keep up a positive attitude in the face of a probable very bad outcome, people accuse you of being in denial and not taking your position seriously.  But, if you refuse to fall into the morose, it denies the disease the destruction of who you are, even if it does destroy the body.  And, sometimes, the disease doesnt even succeed in that.

So, asked Deepa, where does reality fit in?  Where indeed?

Cathy said attitudes are important, but it is a danger to condemn people who fail to hold a positive attitude and, consequently, fail raise themselves out of bad circumstances.  It is not always easy to be a positive thinker.  Sometimes a support group is is necessary to keep up a positive attitude. 

The discussion was ended here, but I think Cathy’s point bears further discussion.  People who completely fail to keep a positive attitude are often those failing in our midst.  The way we treat them says a lot about us.  In the 1930’s and earlier,  people who were failing were allowed to go without health care and allowed to starve.   After 1945 we in America set up government programs to diminish the number of people without health care and who are starving, but we, apparently, have been borrowing the money to do that, and we have not been telling ourselves the truth about the borrowing.  (We humans are not good listeners.)   Now, we as a nation are seriously out of balance in money,  and in our promises to our retirement funds, social security, and health care.  There are many ways to solve the imbalance.  How we do it is going to fuel the political debate in the next few years. 

Philosophically… Rick…

Mar 20 News and Notes

David Soliday spoke to us today about his trip escorting college kids to Jamaica to help fix up a homeless shelter in Kingston.   He said Islanders are much more relaxed about things and its easy to settle in.  The return to busy America was culture shock.  He spent some time getting used to the culture shock of being a distinct minority race in a foreign country.  He thought painting the homeless shelter was important (it was pretty grim before they started and quite colorful and cheerful afterward) but the importance of it was magnified by the fact that people came to the country to do the work.  Staying in America and paying for the paint and labor would not have achieved the same amount of good will.  How much difference can paint make?  How much difference can good will make?

The children’s story was “One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish” read in Jamaican Patois.

Announcements:  The Ohio Meadville Assembly and the Central Ohio Cluster is meeting next weekend and there is no one to represent our little UUCE congregation.  If you have the time, we have the driving directions.  We are looking for a volunteer.  It is mostly a Saturday event with a few niceties on Friday and a service Sunday morning.

There is a new chore list for everyone to sign up for.  We don’t want the same people to do all the work.  Share the fun.

Remember the potluck is the third Saturday.  This month’s after dinner movie was the modern remake of Homer’s Odyssey:  Oh Brother Where Art Thou.

Joys and Sorrows:  We lit a candle because the U.S. launched cruise missiles into Libya and we are lighting a candle in the hope that some sanity will come out of this.  … although all of us recognize the incongruity of hoping for sanity out of a situation that starts off with the launching of cruise missiles.  Barbara is in Westley Glen rehab center and we all wish her the best.  A card is always appreciated.  We lit a candle in hopes that the fallout from the Japanese nuclear reactors will disburse without doing harm.