Why We Should Pursue "Welcoming Congregation" Status

My congregation and many other Unitarian Universalist congregations in "Red State" Bible-Belt conservative regions appear to find the Welcoming Congregation Program an unreasonable burden for them.

I found two theological statements on why this difficult task is worth doing in our congregations.

The first statement is from Rev. Victoria Weinstein (a Unitarian Universalist minister in Norwell, Massachusetts) preaching about what had changed her mind on the Welcoming Congregation question:

Excerpt from "Straight Eyes on Queer Lives: Justice or Entertainment?" by Rev. Victoria Weinstein
And so now we get to the heart of the gay issue, which is really not a political one at all. It is a religious issue, a theological issue, and an issue that we should know is tearing apart communities of faith all across this country, and all over the world. Because of course, Madonna and Britney and the Fab Five were not the only ones making news this summer. Also in the news was the confirmation of the first openly gay bishop of the Episcopal Church – the Reverend Gene Robinson of New Hampshire (I cannot overstate the impact Bishop Robinson's confirmation is still having in Episcopal churches: it is a struggle that is incredibly painful to read about, and to hear about from my Episcopalian friends and colleagues).

In Texas this summer, the Supreme Court made a landmark ruling that restored privacy to the sex lives of its straight and gay citizens. And in Canada, men and women became free to marry someone of their own gender, and therefore to include themselves in the multiple legal privileges that are granted to all married couples – including "the right to social security survivor benefits, the ability to make decisions on their partner's behalf in medical emergencies, the right to petition for a partner to immigrate, access to medical care leave for a seriously ill partner, and the right to give their children two legal parents.

I know this issue is also challenging for our own Unitarian Universalist congregations – no less this one – but I am so very proud that our association of congregations has, since our General Assembly in 1970, "made more than twenty public statements in support of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and their rights to enjoy all the benefits and privileges that heterosexual people enjoy." And our leadership developed a denominational Welcoming Congregation program that would help congregations process through some of our own feelings, taboos, fears and just plain information about what it means to be a sexual minority in the church – to sensitize ourselves to those men and women who have traditionally been most contemptuously excluded from God's grace in too many mainstream houses of worship. During that time, Unitarian Universalist ministers began performing same sex civil unions, or services of holy union. Remember that this pioneering movement began as recently as 1970. We are still fairly new at this.

In the mid-90's, I was a lay member of one of our UU congregations that was considering launching the Welcoming Congregation process. I was prepared to vote against it. My argument was that I was already welcoming, I believed our church was welcoming, and I believed that a committee-driven effort to make us especially welcoming to lesbians, gays and bisexuals was unnecessary. It would make us uncomfortable and possibly divide us. I was scared. I had lost too many gay friends to AIDS in the 1980's and felt that a scab was just beginning to form where a very deep wound had been. This doesn't make any sense, does it? But I have come to realize that when it comes to sexuality issues, we proceed from our guts and not so much from rationality. What I feared most was finding out that any of my church friends were – if not outright homophobic – prejudiced against non-hetero people. I didn't want to know.

But here's what I learned as a result of that experience: my church did not exist to keep me or anyone else comfortable. In fact, I was brought to awareness that "my" church was really not "mine" at all, but God's church, where a greater spirit than my own had called a group of seekers together to become more fully loving and therefore more fully human. This was a hard learning. It did not make me happy. I also learned that the church does not exist to make me happy. That was hard, too.

What I learned from participating in the Welcoming Congregation program as a resistant layperson was that the program wasn't for me, and it wasn't about how welcoming I am. It was, and is, a process that is meant to help a community of people open their minds, their arms and their doors wide enough to include the people who are so often turned away from religious fellowship and thus excluded from the church's life-giving ministries. I was brought to understand that the Welcoming Congregation program is not a political program but an exercise in the spiritual art of compassion, and of the practice of radical hospitality as practiced most notably by Jesus of Nazareth (who, by the way, never said one word about homosexuality, although his followers had plenty of opinions about it).

First Parish in Norwell became an officially Welcoming Congregation in 1999. I am proud of you for it. It was a fact about you that deeply impressed and attracted me when I first read your congregational record. And I was proud of you when we did this thing recently that I think turned out to be a bit more provocative than many of us expected it to be… in a manner of speaking, we "came out of the closet" about our welcoming designation! We installed a rainbow flag on the front of this meetinghouse on a windy day last year, and now we are processing through together the impact that flag has made within our congregation and in our wider community. No one in this congregation has asked that the flag removed, but we are talking – and perhaps voting -- about its location. In the two meetings we have held to talk about the flag's location, we have learned one thing for certain: symbols are very powerful.

How we proceed in our decision-making about this symbol will be every bit as important as any practical outcome. This process calls us to listen deeply to one another, and to honor the personal experiences that some of you have trusted each other enough to share from your hearts. I believe this is an opportunity for us to listen especially closely to those men and women to whom that flag was meant to say, "you're safe here." For those of us who have never known what it's like to feel unsafe in a house of worship because of our sexual orientation – and I include myself in that category – this is a particularly rich opportunity for deeper understanding.

The second theological statement comes from the United Church of Christ's "Frequently Asked Questions" Page for their "Open and Affirming Congregations" program (the UCC equivalent of the Welcoming Congregation Program):

We already say: "We welcome everyone." To whom does it matter that UCC settings make public statements of welcome specifically to BGLT (Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender) persons?
Too many BGLT people and their families live with the pain of having believed that "everyone" meant them, only to discover otherwise. No one should have to guess about the "boundaries of inclusion" of a congregation or other ministry.

A clear welcome matters to BGLT adults who, seeking to share their faith and gifts with the church, often wonder if they will meet with silence or condemnation if they are "out" in church.

It matters to BGLT youth who need the guidance of faith communities as they question and establish their understandings of sexuality, spirituality, and relationships, but fear the same disapproval.

It matters to families which too often hide the fact that they have BGLT children or other relatives. Fearing the indifference or rejection of their church, they are cut off from support and sharing which would enrich them and their congregation.

It matters to BGLT clergy who often feel that to serve the church they must hide their true selves and lives.

It matters to all Christians who believe that God's affirmation of the gifts of loving relationships and sexuality are not restricted to those who are heterosexual, and who look to their church to witness to God's inclusive love and help them to better understand and live it.

These two theological statements tell me that we should not be looking at the Welcoming Congregation program from a personal "what does it mean for me" perspective. Regardless of one's theological perspective, my congregation isn't really "mine" ... it belongs to something or someone bigger than me.

Given the role that religion has played in promoting homophobia and heterosexism, I think we need to explicitly promote on our own the idea that some congregations are seriously addressing homophobia and heterosexism rather than depending on pop culture references like Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back to do this promotion for Unitarian Universalist congregations.

And my congregation's role in the Welcoming Congregation process is to create a safe and supportive place where we can do some challenging "soul work." But this comfort and safety for those engaged in serious "soul work" isn't the same as creating a place where one is left undisturbed, unchallenged, and "happy."

Online Unitarian Universalist Religious Education and Lifespan Faith Development Resources (from an article written for my congregation's newsletter)

You've just volunteered to teach an eight week pillar of religious education classes at All Souls and after your enthusiasm wears off you realize that you need extra help and information right now.

Or you've agreed to lead an adult religious education class and you're scrambling for resources to present your topic.

But it's 3 AM on Sunday morning when you realize that you need help. You don't want to call Susan (our DRE) or Melissa (our Religious Education Chair) and wake them at 3 AM.

There is no need to panic. Help may be just a mouse-click away.

Here's a listing of available online religious education resources for you that are available 24 hours a day - 7 days a week - ready and willing to help you in working with children, youth, and adults.

UUA Lifespan Faith Development Staff Group (formerly known as the "Religious Education Department") - According to this UUA web, the Lifespan Faith Development Staff Group provides " ... lifespan resources for education, worship, advocacy, and social action that nurture UU identity, spiritual growth, a transforming faith, and vital communities of justice and love."

Curriculum Mapping - "The purpose of Curriculum Mapping is to help congregations and other groups plan religious education programs for children, youth, adults, and multi-age groups by providing one place to review all the published curricula possibilities before deciding which to explore further."

Discussion Guides - The online book discussion guides designed to promote reflection and discussion can be used by individuals and groups. Most of the books listed are Beacon Press book.

The Beacon Press Discussion Guides for Unitarian Universalist Communities - "A resource for adult religious education or adult discussion groups seeking to examine issues of concern to the UU movement."

Short Programs -- " ... developed for timely publication on the Web or published here after they are no longer available in print -- to download, print, and use"

The currently available free-to-download short programs online include:

"Stewardship: The Joy of Giving" - a five-session curriculum in which primary children, intermediate children, youth, and adults learn about stewardship with their peers, then celebrate it with all generations.

"The New UU: An Orientation Program for New Members of Unitarian Universalist Congregations"

"UUA 101: You and the UUA" -- A downloadable workshop about your Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations

Our Whole Lives - Lifespan Sexuality Education Curricula jointly developed by the Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Church of Christ

Multicultural and Anti-Bias Resources

Selected Faith Development Resources for Adults

UU History Resources

Unitarian Universalist Family Network - "To articulate and advocate a definition of FAMILY and FAMILY VALUES as reflections of our Unitarian Universalist theology; To serve and service UU family ministry through spiritual development, education programs, social justice advocacy, and caring companionship"

UUA Loan Library - "Many programs for adults, youth, children and congregations are available on loan for a two-week period from the Lifespan Faith Development Loan Library. Before contacting us for materials, we ask that you check first with your district about borrowing resources."

Southwest District Religious Education Resources and Loan Library

Email Mailing Lists - The UUA sponsors these RE-related email mailing lists for religious education professionals and volunteers working with children, youth, and adults.

Some of these email lists included on this resource are:

REACH-L - Discussion and sharing of UU Religious Education

Adult-RE - Discussion on UU adult religious education programs

YRUU-L - A resource for UU youth programs including Young Religious Unitarian Universalists (YRUU)

Advisor-L - Discussion Resource for YRUU Group Advisors

Resources for Youth and Adults working with Youth - Middle School Youth (Grades 6-8) and YRUU Youth (Ages 14-20)

Covenant Group and Small Group Ministry Resources for UU Young Adults (Ages 18-35)

UU Faith Works - A clearinghouse packet to support lifespan faith development and empower religious educators, ministers, and lay leaders in their work.

Religious Education Leadership Development Resources

These religious education resources are provided to our congregation through the generous financial contributions that our congregation and other UU congregations make to the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Southwest District of the UUA.

These resources reflect the cooperative - interdependent spirit of Unitarian Universalism and are freely available to all who need them.

Ward Sutton Cartoon Response to Gay-Friendly United Church of Christ Ads

I saw this cartoon while surfing the United Church of Christ web site ...



My daughter and my partner are both doing the low-carb thing. I passed along the theological implications in this cartoon to them.

Two Articles Critical of Abstinence Only Sexuality Education

These are both worth checking out ...

"Bush's Sex Scandal" by Nicholas D. Kristof

Fausto commentary on this article found on the "Socinian" blog site.

Steve Strikes a Raw Nerve with Peacebang's Blog

Today, I posted a comment to Peacebang's blog. A slightly modified version can be found here on my blog. Due to my criticism of her pseudonymous online postings and her opinion that my words were an inappropriate reply, she deleted my posting.

Tonight, I received an insulting email from the anonymous author of Peacebang in response to my reply.

Apparently, she didn't appreciate my criticism.

Why We Lose Our UU Children When They Grow Up

On 15 February 2005, Peacebang wrote the following:
"Meanwhile, my own Unitarian Universalists are still arguing about whether or not we should be using a "language of reverence," failing to welcome visitors at coffee hour, hemorrhaging youth members after high school graduation, and cheering when our certified membership climbs by a little over one percentage point of a miniscule 100,000 souls. Because see, we don't evangelize."

One reason for losing youth members after high school graduation is the perception that our congregations cater to those who are older adult converts.

We rarely attempt to provide a worship experience with youth or young adults as part of our religious community. Or if we do offer this experience, we expect youth and young adults to conform to older adult worship norms ... we're not even attempting to meet them half-way.

"Children of a Different Tribe: UU Young Adult Developmental Issues" by Sharon Hwang Colligan is worth checking out. As a former Young Religious Unitarian Universalist who was also active as a UU Young Adult, she provides the perspective of what it's like for the adult who was raised as a child and youth in our Religious Education programs. Sharon's work is part of the theological foundation for the The Bridging Program: Workshops and Guidelines by Colin Bossen and Dawn Star Borchelt (a longer online version of the review of this curriculum prepared for the Liberal Religious Educator Association newsletter can be found online here).

Another resource you may want to check out is "Congregational Hospitality: Growth By Young Adults: Worship, Programs and Outreach," a workshop presented by Dr. Michael Tino (Director of the UU Young Adult Network and Campus Ministry) at last summer's General Assembly in Long Beach, CA. The slides for his presentation can be downloaded using this link. Here's what was recorded on the General Assembly web site about young adults and worship in UU congregations:

Young adults need other young adults, so it's good to start with some sort of social gathering. However, without other programs, such as contemporary worship, classes, and workshops geared towards their needs – programs that engage them fully (rather than just "doing the dishes") and other spiritually-enriching programs – they are not likely to stay. Covenant groups of mixed ages and covenant groups solely for young adults are also ways to assimilate them into our congregational life.

Tino compared the traditional UU service to a sandwich with the "chunk of sermon" in the middle. Young adults, on the other hand, prefer contemporary services that are likened to an Ethiopian dinner where everything is served in a round platter or bread basket and participants share the meal by breaking off pieces of the basket. A long sermon of 20 minutes, for instance, could be broken down into three short homilies separated by musical interludes or a short drama and still get the message across.

Multimedia and audio-visual aides, including overheads, slides, and photographic projection, are used more often in contemporary services which also use more music – and not all pieces of music are by dead white guys.

Young adults tend to gather in coffee shops, campuses, daycare centers, schools, bars, and places with live music, so bulletin boards in these areas would be good places to post events to attract them to our programs.

Finally, I've got a question that's been puzzling me for many weeks about folks who write their blogs like Peacebang.

Peacebang, why do you write behind a pseudonym without any links to your real-world non-online identity? Many bloggers do make reference to who they are (name, community, etc) on their blogs.

The danger I can see in anonymity is a person writing from a pseudonym could be finding a slippery slope into the extremely rude and insulting without any sense of accountability for what he/she has written.

The Daou Report

A new feature on Salon.com ... a web site that tracks message boards and blogs:

"The Daou Report tracks leading blogs, message boards, online magazines, and independent websites from across the political spectrum - providing a snapshot of the latest news, views, and online buzz."

SpongeBob Squarepants Makes the Cover of The Nation

... and the United Church of Christ is mentioned in this cover article because of their policy of "unequivocal welcome" to "any who have experienced the Christian message as a harsh word of judgment rather than Jesus' offering of grace."

Our Godless Constitution

A recent article in The Nation is worth checking out in light of the mutual hi-jacking of conservative religion and conservative politics in the United States. The article is "Our Godless Constitution" by Brooke Allen. Here is one choice quote from this article:

The Founding Fathers were not religious men, and they fought hard to erect, in Thomas Jefferson words, "a wall of separation between church and state." John Adams opined that if they were not restrained by legal measures, Puritans--the fundamentalists of their day--would "whip and crop, and pillory and roast." The historical epoch had afforded these men ample opportunity to observe the corruption to which established prosthetic were liable, as well as "the impious presumption of legislators and rulers," as Jefferson wrote, "civil as well as ecclesiastical, who, being themselves but fallible and uninspired men, have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such endeavoring to impose them on others, hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world and through all time."

Here's Hoping That You Have a "Happy Ending"

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Why Our Children and Youth Need Comprehensive Sexuality Education

The advocates of fear-based abstinence-only sexuality education are pushing something that has been proven (again!) not to work. Check out the following:

Abstinence? No thanks, we'll have sex

Texas Teens Increased Sex After Abstinence Program

For years, conservatives have pushed the idea that liberals promote social programs that are just "fuzzy-headed" and not grounded in reality. Apparently, conservatives are projecting their own faults onto their liberal neighbors. "Abstinence-only" programs do not work and are based on some people's views of how the world should be and not how the world is. As I have written earlier, our society seem willing to sacrifice our children on the rock of sexual ignorance.

No on Gonzales - No to Torture

Torture of prisoners is incompatible with what my Unitarian Universalist faith teaches about promoting the "inherent worth and dignity of every person" and also affirming "justice, equity and compassion in human relations."

I'm joining the call by Daily Kos to oppose Alberto Gonzales' nomination to be Attorney General of the United States. This call is reprinted below.

======================
"No on Gonzales" by Armando (Tue Jan 25th, 2005 at 12:43:07 PST -- posted on the Daily Kos blog)

Unprecedented times call for unprecedented actions. In this case, we, the undersigned bloggers, have decided to speak as one and collectively author a document of opposition. We oppose the nomination of Alberto Gonzales to the position of Attorney General of the United States, and we urge every United States Senator to vote against him.

As the prime legal architect for the policy of torture adopted by the Bush Administration, Gonzales's advice led directly to the abandonment of longstanding federal laws, the Geneva Conventions, and the United States Constitution itself. Our country, in following Gonzales's legal opinions, has forsaken its commitment to human rights and the rule of law and shamed itself before the world with our conduct at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib. The United States, a nation founded on respect for law and human rights, should not have as its Attorney General the architect of the law's undoing.

In January 2002, Gonzales advised the President that the United States Constitution does not apply to his actions as Commander in Chief, and thus the President could declare the Geneva Conventions inoperative. Gonzales's endorsement of the August 2002 Bybee/Yoo Memorandum approved a definition of torture so vague and evasive as to declare it nonexistent. Most shockingly, he has embraced the unacceptable view that the President has the power to ignore the Constitution, laws duly enacted by Congress and International treaties duly ratified by the United States. He has called the Geneva Conventions "quaint."

Legal opinions at the highest level have grave consequences. What were the consequences of Gonzales's actions? The policies for which Gonzales provided a cover of legality - views which he expressly reasserted in his Senate confirmation hearings - inexorably led to abuses that have undermined military discipline and the moral authority our nation once carried. His actions led directly to documented violations at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo and widespread abusive conduct in locales around the world.

Michael Posner of Human Rights First observed: "After the horrific images from Abu Ghraib became public last year, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld insisted that the world should 'judge us by our actions [and] watch how a democracy deals with the wrongdoing and with scandal and the pain of acknowledging and correcting our own mistakes.'" We agree. It is because of this that we believe the only proper course of action is for the Senate to reject Alberto Gonzales's nomination for Attorney General. As Posner notes, "[t]he world is indeed watching." Will the Senate condone torture? Will the Senate condone the rejection of the rule of law?

With this nomination, we have arrived at a crossroads as a nation. Now is the time for all citizens of conscience to stand up and take responsibility for what the world saw, and, truly, much that we have not seen, at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere. We oppose the confirmation of Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General of the United States, and we urge the Senate to reject him.
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Education Secretary condemns PBS cartoon with lesbian characters

First it was SpongeBob Squarepants who was in trouble for being too gay-friendly.

Now the PBS cartoon series for children, "Postcards from Buster" is under attack. The US Secretary of Education Margaret Spelling has condemned the PBS series for showing a family with two moms in Vermont.

Read "Education Secretary condemns PBS cartoon with lesbian characters" for more details.

U.S. Christians Issue Gay Warning Over Kid Video

Now Sponge-Bob can join the ranks of other gay characters who entertain children like Tinky-Winky, Bert and Ernie, Dr. Quest and Race Bannon, Snagglepuss, Peppermint Patty, C3PO in Star Wars, etc.

I'm glad to see that the Religious Right is concerned about important matters affecting our culture.

Online Unitarian Universalist Worship Planning Resources (based on an article written for my congregation's newsletter)

You've just found out that you're responsible for planning all or part of an upcoming worship service. You don't need to panic. Help may be just a mouse-click away.

The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) has online worship planning resources for nearly every type of worship experience we have at All Souls ... intergenerational, children, youth, young adults, and general worship planning. Here's a listing of what you can find online to help you:

UUA WorshipWeb -- An online resource for ordained and lay worship leaders.

WORSHIP-L Email Discussion List -- Discussion on presenting good worship services -- This email list is ideal for Worship Committee Chairs and members, Directors of Religious Education, musicians, ministers and others with an interest in worship.

Worship Resources from "InterConnections" -- "InterConnections" is the magazine for UU lay leaders.

SW District Speakers Database -- A listing of speakers available to speak at UU churches in the Southwest District (a resource for planning when our minister is out of the pulpit).

"Faith Works" Archives (formerly know as the "REACH" Religious Educator archives) Go to "Faith Works" and search for "worship" (without quotes) to see what is available. Or you can browse the back issues of "Faith Works" and "REACH" for ideas for worship and other church activities.

"Blessings to All Beings: A Youth Spiritual Anthology" -- A resource for creating youth worship. This resource includes homilies, sermons, poems, and readings about and by youth. This can be valuable for planning youth-led Sunday Services as well. The link provided requires Adobe Acrobat to use it.

A Guide to Planning a Youth Sunday -- The following is presented as a guideline to putting together Youth Sunday services. While it addresses Youth Sunday services, the guidelines and checklist on this resource can also be used by adults and would be comforting to Myers-Brigs "J" personalities. The downloadable Adobe Acrobat PDF version can be found here.

"Deep Fun: A Compendium of YRUU Games" -- An exciting combination of new and old games, divided into sections based on the "Five Steps of Building Community" used in UU youth ministry. Everything from the silly to the profound -- some of the activities here can be used in worship, adult RE, and other settings. The link provided above is an HTML resource. The downloadable Adobe Acrobat PDF version can be found online here.

Young Adult Worship Archives -- Resources from congregations and UU young adult groups across the US and Canada.

Unitarian Universalist Contemporary Worship -- This site is designed as a resource for congregations seeking to design more contemporary worship services to attract young adults and others who are largely absent from our communities of faith.

Please keep in mind that age-specific resources provided for children, youth, young adults, and adults may be adaptable for other age ranges. It may be helpful to think outside the age-range "boxes" when planning a worship service.

These worship planning resources are provided to our congregation through the generous financial contributions that our congregation and other UU congregations make to the UUA each year.

These worship resources reflect the cooperative and interdependent spirit of Unitarian Universalism. They are freely available to all who need them.

[Note: this resource has been updated on 22 July 2005 to fix two broken links and to add a link for contemporary worship planning.]

My Survey Responses in the Ministerial Search Process - Part 5

This is my response to the eight, ninth, and tenth open-ended questions in the survey provided by my congregation's Ministerial Search Committee. The first response and the background behind these survey questions can be found here.

Would you like to see the church’s membership grow? What would be the advantages and disadvantages of growing?
I would like to see the congregation grow so much that we need to create new UU congregations in Shreveport to handle the numbers and theological diversity.

It would be very selfish of me to not want congregational growth. We don’t realize it but Unitarian Universalism does offer salvation. We can save people in Shreveport from those things that deny life or make it less whole.

Our UU tradition of offering health-promoting and sexuality-positive information for our youth is one very concrete example of how we offer salvation in our world. Since the early 1970s, UU churches have provided “About Your Sexuality” for youth. Today we offer the “Our Whole Lives” lifespan sexuality education program for children, youth, and adults.

Are there any special issues that you would like our Ministerial Search Committee to consider and on which you would like to express your views?
- How comfortable would a ministerial candidate be with promoting lifespan sexuality education and other matters related to congregational sexual health at All Souls?

- How comfortable would a ministerial candidate be with promoting the theological foundation of Unitarian Universalist youth ministry found in YRUU (Young Religious Unitarian Universalists)? These concepts include “youth empowerment,” shared youth-adult leadership, “power shared equals power multiplied,” youth ministry as a form of anti-oppression work that addresses ageism, etc.

- How comfortable would a ministerial candidate be with promoting congregational involvement in other types of anti-oppression work like “Welcoming Congregation” and “Journey Towards Wholeness”?

What would make you want to attend Sunday Services more often?
I usually don’t attend Sunday worship because I’m in the RE wing for most Sundays. Given that fact, you probably don’t want to listen to my thoughts.

But I’ve also found that what most Unitarian Universalist congregations offer on Sunday morning to be much less spiritual, less deep, and less intense than the typical worship experience I’ve seen at weekend YRUU rallies, SWUUSI youth camp, and UU young adult conferences.

From my experience with youth and young adult conferences, I would like to see us break out of the traditional Protestant “Sermon Sandwich” model for our worship services. There are UU models for doing alternative and contemporary worship that would free us from the mostly non-participatory, unidirectional communication style, lecture-sermon worship model that we inherited from our Protestant history.

Could our worship be done in a “circle worship” format instead of the current “rectangular” format?

Could it happen outside from time to time? Does it have to happen on Sunday morning? From a circadian rhythm point of view, Sunday morning is a bad time of day for some youth and young adults.

For youth and young adults who attend school five days a week, a worship experience that is a lecture-sermon is just another day of school work for them … do we want to add an extra day of work to their school schedule? Or do we want to offer a worship experience that allows one a chance to let his or her soul catch up with him or her … a refreshing break from the very busy lives we all lead?

My Survey Responses in the Ministerial Search Process - Part 4

This is my response to the sixth and seventh open-ended questions in the survey provided by my congregation's Ministerial Search Committee. The first response and the background behind these survey questions can be found here.

Describe the worst mistake your new minister could make.
Given that All Souls is one of the most conservative UU congregations I’ve attended, anything that moves us away from mainstream UU denominational practices would be a mistake. Within my experience within UU congregations, conferences, etc, we are at the conservative margins already.

Also, it would be to call a minister who is unwilling to take principled social justice stands on issues in our community. Our ordained religious professional (Angie) and our non-ordained religious professional (Susan) have both made some very courageous statements in favor of love, equality, and justice during the anti-same sex marriage amendment debates last fall. While I understand there has been some grumbling from some individuals over these social justice stands, I feel that we should be proud of standing up for justice and love.

Any UU minister who is unwilling to speak out like Angie and Susan on these social justice matters would not be good for our congregation, Unitarian Universalism, or Shreveport.

What expectations, however unstated, do you have about the minister’s family and personal life?
Since we are a member congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Association, I think we should comply with the recommendations that have been created through the open and democratic governance of our association:

“… the 1980 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association urge the UUA and its member churches, fellowships and organizations to renew their commitment to end discrimination against gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons through educational programs at the local, district, and continental levels and calls upon the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association and the UUA Department of Ministerial and Congregational Services to lend full assistance in the settlement of qualified openly gay, lesbian, and bisexual religious leaders.” [1980 General Assembly Business Resolution]

“The MFC declares and affirms its special responsibility to value all persons without regard to race, color, gender, disability, affectional or sexual orientation, family structure, age, ethnicity, or national origin in making its credentialing decisions.” [Ministerial Fellowship Committee policy update, reported to the UUA Board of Trustees, 8 December 2003]

To me, this means our search committee should fairly consider any and all qualified candidates without regard to race, color, gender, gender expression, affectional or sexual orientation, family structure, age, ethnicity, or national origin.

I don’t have anything else to add here except that we as a congregation need to set healthy boundaries so our future minister had enough time away from us so she can have a personal and family life.

My Survey Responses in the Ministerial Search Process - Part 3

This is my response to the fourth and fifth open-ended questions in the survey provided by my congregation's Ministerial Search Committee. The first response and the background behind these survey questions can be found here.

What qualities (professional skills/expertise and personal) should our next minister possess? What is your profile of our hoped-for minister?
I would like to see a minister that reflects what is best in current Unitarian Universalist social justice thought. To call a minister like that, we will have to accept that she will be more like “Boston,” “San Francisco,” or “Starr King Seminary” and certainly not representative of Shreveport’s popular or political culture.

Given the rampant racism, sexism, homophobia, religious intolerance, etc already present in our town, we need a minister that causes us to question the norms, the “structural oppression,” and other non-intentional evils in Shreveport.

What achievements will make you say, “I’m glad the minister is among us?”
I would be glad to have any minister among us who can get widespread congregational acceptance of the importance of anti-oppression work in our congregation.

Anti-oppression work is spiritual work and is rooted in Unitarian Universalist principles, values, and historical tradition. Anti-oppression work represents Unitarian Universalists' commitment to living our principles and purposes.

Our goal of making our congregation anti-racist, anti-oppressive, multicultural, and inclusive demonstrates our belief in the inherent worth and dignity of all people. Applying anti-racism and other anti-oppression lenses (e.g. “Welcoming Congregation”) to our structures and standard operating procedures is practicing our responsible search for truth and meaning.

Involving and engaging marginalized communities in our decision-making, and following the leadership of those communities, deepens our commitment to the democratic process, enables us to exercise justice, compassion and equity at more profound levels of our community, and shows our recognition of the importance of interdependence in creating the beloved community.

Furthermore, anti oppression work is consistent with Unitarian Universalism's heretical tradition. We are challengers and questioners of the status quo. We celebrate our role in the vanguard of liberal religious, social and political movements.

Any minister who can encourage our indifferent board and congregation members along with our conservative naysayers to work together in Welcoming Congregation work, Journey Towards Wholeness anti-racism work, and other UU anti-oppression work social justice work would make me say “I’m glad the minister is among us.”

My Survey Responses in the Ministerial Search Process - Part 2

This is my response to the second and third open-ended questions in the survey provided by my congregation's Ministerial Search Committee. The first response and the background behind these survey questions can be found here.

What are the main things you would like the congregation to accomplish or get involved in within the next three to five years?
We should strive to be an inclusive congregation that is intentionally willing to struggle to dismantle legal and social barriers to equal association, act with integrity, and honor the many gifts that each of us brings to All Souls.

What current church problems/issues concern you? What problems/issues are likely to be pressing in five years?

Lack of Congregational Commitment to Anti-Oppression Work such as Anti-Racism programs like “Journey Towards Wholeness” and the “Welcoming Congregation” program that explores homophobia and heterosexism - From my experience in other UU settings in our district and elsewhere, we need to start on something easier like “Welcoming Congregation” before we attempt the more difficult anti-racism work. If we cannot find the spiritual strength to explore personal, cultural, and institutional biases towards BGLT folks, then I don’t think we have the strength to explore personal, cultural, and institutional biases towards people of color.

Demographic Changes That Affect Both Denominational and Congregational Growth – For our denomination and our congregation, the increase in RE enrollment associated with the “Baby Boom” generation becoming parents is already going away. If we are viewing RE as the “engine” that drives congregational growth while families with children are a declining demographic group, this may not work for us. This is also compounded by the fact that we are an aging community. Our children want to move away when they grow up. This may be another reason for us to be more like “San Francisco” or “Boston” and less like “Shreveport” as a congregation. We won’t attract young liberal families to our congregation and its RE program if we act theologically conservative and retreat from UU social justice work.

How Do We Promote Ourselves When Being “Unchurched” Is Socially Acceptable Even in the “Bible Belt? – Prior to the 1960s and 1970s, there was a cultural expectation that one must be at church on Sunday mornings. This 1950s expectation died with the “Baby Boomer” generation and is not true today.

We can’t just say that we’re a “liberal alternative to Broadmoor Baptist” when sleeping in, golfing, etc are also acceptable Sunday Morning alternatives even in Shreveport.

My Survey Responses in the Ministerial Search Process - Part 1

My congregation (All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana) is currently in the search process for a settled minister.

As part of this search process, our search committee is surveying the congregation for their views on the role of the minister, personal spiritual leanings, and more. The survey used by search committee is the one recommended by the Unitarian Universalist Association's Ministry and Professional Leadership Staff Group.

The final portion of this survey is a series of ten open-ended questions. The following blog entry is written in response to the the first question in the list of open-ended survey questions:

What current strengths does our congregation possess that you would like to either see maintained or developed in the immediate future?
In my opinion, our biggest strength is our religious “brand name” and the marketing niche associated with our denomination in North American religious life.

In much of North America and certainly in Shreveport/Bossier City, where can a political liberal go and feel affirmed on Sunday morning at church?

Where can a bisexual, gay, lesbian, transgender person and/or family go and be affirmed on Sunday morning at church?

Where can an interracial couple go and be affirmed on Sunday morning at church?

The obvious answer should be “All Souls Shreveport.”

In terms of denominational “brand names” and theological marketing niches, we are the only Unitarian Universalist congregation within 70 miles. This means we have a potential strength that we can use to grow both in numbers and also grow the souls in our congregation.

Being a Unitarian Universalist doesn’t mean we can believe “anything we want to believe.” We are not a “consumer-driven” religion but rather one that should both comfort and challenge us.

As a faith community, we have a history and a shared theology that we have inherited, inhabit today, and will be passed along to later generations after we are gone.

This theology and its components that we have inherited are distinctively Unitarian Universalist and reflect our history as a North American religious movement … how we view humanity and God, how we form church communities, the “end result” of our theology, how we view other faith communities, how we view salvation, etc are distinctively “different” from most Shreveport churches. Hiding this difference would be a grave mistake.

[Note: See Karen LoBracco's sermon based on Dr. Rebecca Parker's Liberal Religious Educator Association talks on UU theology of religious education presented at the 2002 LREDA Fall Conference for details about what I think we offer that is unique in Shreveport.]

We cannot use this unique marketing strength if we market ourselves as a “Protestant-Lite” church in Shreveport and Bossier City … other churches can do “Protestant-Lite” better than we can and we’re the only church in town who can offer Unitarian Universalist theology.

Programs like “Welcoming Congregation,” “Journey Towards Wholeness,” “Young Religious Unitarian Universalists,” and “Our Whole Lives” do run counter to prevailing cultural norms of Shreveport and Bossier City. Given the stifling and unhealthy cultural norms in our community, being “out of step” should be a marketing plus and not a problem for us in our marketing.

Our Unitarian Universalist neighbors in Longview, TX have marketed themselves as a distinctive religious community that is different from other Longview churches. When they offered Unitarian Universalist sexuality education for their adults, they sent a press release to the local paper religion editor. This informed their community that their church was uniquely sexuality-positive. When they started the Welcoming Congregation study process (about a year before they took the congregational vote to become a Welcoming Congregation), they sent out a press release to the local paper again. This informed their community that they were uniquely BGLT-friendly. One end result of the Longview UU fellowship’s positioning of themselves as a unique congregation in the Bible Belt has been numeric growth … so much growth that they are outgrowing their building and will be receiving the next SW District “Chalice Lighter” grant to assist them in growing further.

However, we also have some other strengths that should be mentioned as well:

- Children and Youth Faith Development Programs (“Religious Education”)

- Dedicated church staff who work incredibly hard for us

- Dedicated volunteers who support the life of the congregation.