by Jonathan McRay
Delivered on 7/22/18

-Moment of silence to honor the land, the indigenous people, and those who have been enslaved here

My mother’s father grew up in a farming family. Not one that farmed for much money, but one that raised hogs and grew gardens on rented land. After my grandfather grew up, his parents bought land and built their house with their hands. Just before I was born, my great-grandfather was crushed by his tractor on a steep hillside. Years later my great-grandmother sold the farm to divide the inheritance money between her two children. I don’t think my granddad ever fully recovered from losing his dream of farming that land. But a decade ago he and my grandmother bought land, where he grew a large garden in the late evenings after work and on the weekends. Earlier this summer, they finally moved out there.

My grandfather doesn’t speak much, mostly humming and rubbing his hands together, but when asked why he plants a garden every year despite limited time and old age, he replied, “I try to stop, but every spring the soil sings to me.”

I have several bookshelves devoted to an agricultural library and none of those books say why they do what they do with half of my grandfather’s eloquence. Few of these authors introduce their practical guides with an emotional invitation to see what they love about their land. A language of sustainable agriculture must be informed by emotion, a feeling in the body as much as, if not more than, philosophical or scientific thoughts. I want a vision of agriculture that, like my grandfather, trusts that the soil does indeed sing in the spring.

I want this because the most innovative techniques of “carbon farming” or “regenerative agriculture,” or for that matter restorative justice, won’t save us if we’re not cultivating reverence for the world. They won’t save us because they won’t last without reverent affection that supports them beyond burnout. I didn’t grow up farming, so I’ve needed handbooks and workshops about practices for sustaining our soil, but how about practices for sustaining these practices? What about ongoing steps for cultivating affection?

I suppose I’m trying to say that sustainable agriculture and culture can only be sustained by practices that might best be called spiritual. Now, in the past I’ve been pretty allergic to that word and the wispy ways I’ve seen it tossed around. But I’m not talking about otherworldly or unworldly beliefs. I’m describing a way of experiencing this world: the soils that grow our food, the water we drink, the harvests we eat, the relationships we depend on as gifts of life. We are called to care for these gifts. By spirit, I really mean what animates us, inspires us, keeps us going, like a deep breath or a cool wind. How do we sustain our spirit? I care about this spirit as a grower who plants trees and sows seeds, as a facilitator who tries to make the energy of conflict flow as easily as possible.  [Read more…]

Presented by: Rebecca Harris
Harrisonburg Unitarian Universalist
July 1^st, 2018

Unitarian Universalism has seven principles and six sources, which are listed
in Singing The Living Tradition just before the hymns. The Unitarians emerged
in Transylvania & Poland in the 2^nd ½ of 16^th century,
the Universalists in the United States in 1793. What did these Unitarians and Universalists
believe? Well, thanks to social media I was able to put out a call on FB asking
that very question, as I was searching for a concise phrase to explain their theology.
I got many thoughtful responses. Chris and Robin gave me exactly the phrase I was
looking for but was not able to recall. That is “Historically, Universalists believe
God is too good to send anyone to Hell, while Unitarians believe THEY are too good
to be sent there”. My friend Rufus gave me the historical citation for this: Thomas
Starr King is credited with describing the difference between Universalists and
Unitarians: Universalists believe that God is too good to damn men; Unitarians believe
that man is too good to be damned [1].

The Unitarians and the Universalists were separate denominations until 1961,
when they merged [2]. Today there are 1,035
UU churches, societies, fellowships and congregations in the United States. Some
have one, or more full time called ministers, some have part time ministers, and
some are 100% lay led, like us. There are 199,850 Unitarian Universalist members,
which is less than 1/10 of 1% of the US population[3].  [Read more…]

by J. Barkley Rosser, Jr.
January 21, 2018

1) This talk follows and extends a talk given about a decade ago at HUU by Ed Piper, then the minister at Waynesboro UU. While I disagreed with some of what he said, I agreed with his main points. Numerous studies of this subject agree that the most important contributors to happiness and life satisfaction are good family and friend relations, health, and employment for those of working age who wish to work. Things that can make one unhappy are sharp declines of those: death of spouse or child or close friend, sudden sharp decline in health, involuntary loss of a job, along with such other things as being in a dangerous war zone, in an epidemic zone, being in a severely oppressed group, and being arrested and put in jail.

2) While they are closely correlated (on the order of 85%), happiness and life satisfaction are not identical. The former seems to be tied more to momentary states of mind or being, while the latter involves looking over a longer time horizon of one’s life. Something that tends to differ for them, and this was a topic on which Ed Piper and I differed, involves income and wealth. These do not seem to matter too much for moment to moment happiness, but more so for life satisfaction as does professional success and social status. Regarding income and life satisfaction, there remains a positive relation as income rises, although it weakens as income rises. However, it is not true that the relation ends once one reaches a level of $70,000 per year as Ed claimed and which I have seen repeated even recently on the internet and some media. The relation continues, but steadily weakens.

3) We need to talk about the data on which these erstwhile findings are based, some of them controversial and debated. Basically they come from asking people how happy or satisfied with their lives they are, usually on a 1-10 point scale, although sometimes on a 1-5 point scale. These studies have now been going on since World War II in an increasing number of countries with a wide variety of specific forms for the studies. Summaries of much of these have been gathered in Rotterdam by the sociologist, Ruut Veenhoven, and reports of country comparisons of happiness usually come from there, with Denmark and Costa Rica currently contesting for being the world’s supposedly happiest nation (from here on we shall use happiness and life satisfaction interchangeably for convenience). The UN reports on Happiness of Nations, but has a complicated way of measuring it with Nordic nations and Switzerland on top. Finland is fifth on their list, even though it is 16^th in suicide rates in the world. Which brings us to the fact that cross country comparisons are difficult to make because of cultural differences. Americans are supposedly happier than the French, but we have a higher suicide rate. In France one tends to look down on “being happy.” One is proud of having existentialist angst as one consumes good French food and wine at the nice café on the street, while Americans are happy to brag about being happy. The most reliable data are for individual people over time. We should also recognize that many simply do not accept people answering such surveys as meaning much, and this is the attitude of many hard-nosed economists who say that all that matters is what people do, not what they say.  [Read more…]

December 24, 2017
by Merle Wenger

Today, I find ample reason to celebrate
the first days of winter
the last weeks of the year, the increase of sunlight
for Hannukah and Kwanza, Feliz Navidad, a very old story
the birth of a king, to whom many sing
a virgin birth no less, that neither implies sterility or inability
but certainly emphasizes the aspect of fertility
which would have pleased the country folk long ago
whose pagan rituals sanctified birth’s mystery
a conjuring of the irrational we might defy:
they blessed the four directions, the web of diversity
life depended on relating to animals, the toil of the soil
the constellations of the heavens were like lanterns in the dark.

There’s been a tendency of late you see
with endless dazzling scientific discovery
to downplay mystery as fodder for simple folk
for once we understand meiosis and mitosis
the replication of RNA, the creation of a baby’s DNA
genetic codes that turn us dull or bright,
why should we take our eye from off the microscope–
to ponder unexplained realities
the fickleness of candy canes and tinseled trees,
possessed as we are with self-driving cars,
intoxicated by nano-second timeliness
with formulaic answers for the birds and the bees
right here in our palms, our i-phones or our pads
as if you have the power of a god at your fingertips–
we keep our eyes glued to facts that Google knows:
oodles of answers to everyday tasks
how to change your brake shoes, make homemade bombs;
Why would one pause to raise their eyes to the sky
to ponder a curiously extra bright star,
that might draw well-disciplined minds afar;
this metaphor for holy quests drew wise men as manger guests
like Don Quixote or Elon Musk, imaginations taking off–
some follow uncharted dreams that others scoff.

But viewing the virgin birth as metaphor
As myth that fulfills a sacred text from time before
A long-awaited messiah arrives on the doorstep of a new millennium
Not from distant lands like many virgin births of lore
Where Greek Gods gave birth in distant skies–
“No,” right here on earth among the common folk
Born in a barn where livestock loaf,
Destined to lead throngs seeking change:
He taught mankind to lay down arms
Use brain over brawn
Defy the old, eye for an eye,
Lay up your swords, share your coat
Search your own eye for fault or mote
For divinity is found within—reflects practiced humility
Not in burning bush or faked piety.

Yes, Jesu Christi, like divinities before
Krishna, Buddha, Mithra, Horus and Dionysius
All sages born sans sexual intercourse,
Elevates these teachers to ethereal realms
Disconnects from human drudgery and sensuality
Links humanity to mystery, a medicine for the soul
Truths invisible to microscope or telescope:
For those with neither books or photographs
Created classic epic stories and wisdom tracts
Poetic interpretation of pre-scientific comprehension.

But should you meet a postulate
Whose faith base is more literal
This is perhaps the season to pass it by
For who am I to assess another’s sacredness?
Instead, remember how oft we all suspend reality
Dress up for Halloween as witch or ghost
Wear silly togs to cheer our favorite team
When Duke Dog comes along he brings applause
Or when you play your favorite video game
And literalism is tossed as if some foreign meme;
Consider Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck
Big Bird, Winnie the Pooh, Homer Simpson down on his luck
A Lion King where jungle friends teach wise tales
We sit entranced as talking animals prevail;
To defy symbolism and metaphor
You must forgo all theatre, bid adieu to Streep and Olivier
Turn off the television–give up your addiction to fiction
Send daily comic strips straight to the litter box
Perhaps take off your smile as well–
And tell the world to go to hell.

In the spirit of the holiday I say raise glasses high
to holidays and holy ways
the sanctified celebrations of eons past
Even less dignified Amazon grins and Walmart ads
for Santa Claus and yule logs, to holiday tunes by barking dogs
May Kwanza fill your heart with Joy,
Hannukah dazzle your days with light,
when Jesus’ birthday pales, let New Year’s ale
fortify your body with seasoned bliss,

We’ve made it through this year, there’s much amiss,
yet for today, for most of us, there’s peace on earth,
and I for one hope for some seeming miracle:
reality, in fact, has become a bit too real.
For me, it’s quite alright to celebrate the turning of the sun
With polyester artificial Christmas trees
Or virgin births of revered deities.

On Sunday, October 8th we celebrated membership in HUU and welcomed new members who have joined our congregation in recent months. Three of the readings that were included as part of the service are listed below. All are in pdf format.

Sense Making

Caregiving

Justice Seeking

By Linda Dove
September 3, 2017

Have you too experienced that uncomfortable feeling when you are new to a group and someone forgets to introduce you? For me, that is not affirming. It feels like a put-down. Naming is powerful, isn’t it? And not naming is just as powerful.

Today I name White Privilege in the context of White Supremacy. I will talk briefly about this in the context of our country’s recent upheavals. Charlottesville is the example close to home where the ALT-right, the KKK, the neo-Nazi terrorists and sympathizers proclaimed their hateful truths and named the statue of a slave-owning Confederate leader as a symbol of their “free speech” right to preach evil.

Eve Ensler, in an interview on This I Believe, makes my point in a quite other context. Eve is a performer and the feminist author of the Vagina Monologues. She wrote:

I believe in the power and mystery of naming things. Language has the capacity to transform our cells, rearrange our learned patterns of behavior and redirect our thinking. I believe in naming what’s right in front of us because that is often what is most invisible.

As a country, after decades of near silence, we are yet again at a threshold in openly naming racist acts and speech. Good. Let’s see Charlottesville, tragic though it was, as a fresh start in Identifying and defeating racist terrorism.

First, though, I want to share with you a little of my own evolution in this context.  [Read more…]

The service on July 23, 2017 was called “Players and Bridges” and was presented by Merle Wenger, Rachael Baczynski, and the Chalice Children. It was an excellent and FUN service with singing and dancing. Part of each Sunday service is the reading of A Story for all Ages. As we entered, each person was given a card with “Write Your Own Story for all Ages” as the title.  Each card contained the following:

Once upon a time, there was a _____________________________
Everyday, ___________________________________________
One day. ____________________________________________
Because of that, _______________________________________
Because of that, _______________________________________
Until finally, _________________________________________

It was up to each person to finish the story and share it as part of the service. Assembled for your reading pleasure.

Once upon a time, there was a little girl. Everyday, she ran and leaped and spun around. One day, her grandmother made her a tutu. Because of that, she started ballet lessons Because of that she danced like a mouse and a cat and clown and a rooster. Until finally, she got the part of a swan and became an enchanted princess. ~Joni Grady~

Once upon a time, there was a puppy. Everyday, the puppy sniffed the flowers. One day, a bee stung his nose. Because of that he was afraid of flowers. Because of that he barked at pansies. Until finally, the pansies barked back.

Once upon a time, there was an egg. Everyday, the egg’s mother kept it warm. One day, the mother felt the egg move. Because of that, she called the egg’s father. Because of that they watched and waited. Until finally, the egg broke open and a beautiful baby dragon emerged.

Once upon a time, there were some cows. Everyday, the pooped in the river beside their fields. One day, the farmer who owned them built a fence. Because of that, they could no longer poop in the river. Because of that, the river got cleaner and cleaner. Until finally, all of the kids could go swimming and tubing without getting sick. ~Les Grady~

Once upon a time, there was a smile. Everyday, it looked for a face to adorn. One day, it found me. Because of that, other people smiled back. Because of that more people smiled. Until finally, the whole world was smiling ~Barbara Moore~

Once upon a time, there was a peacock. Everyday, it would spread its tail. One day, visitors came from half a world away to see it. Because of that, its hometown became famous. Because of that the peacock stopped spreading its tail. Until finally, the peacock moved to the deep forest where it could its beautiful tail in peace. ~Chris Edwards ~

Once upon a time, there was a young boy. Everyday, he passed a polluted stream. One day he notices a ???? bird by the stream covered with oil.Because of that, he asked his parents what he could do about it. Because of that, they told him to study the problem. Until finally, he became a dedicted environmentalist working for a cleaner planet. ~Robin McNallie~

Once upon there was a star, Everyday, the star glowed bright, One day, the star got bigger. Because of that, it could see new stars. Because of that it grew big enough to cover other stars. Until finally, it could hug all the stars.