October 30, 2011
by Beryl Lawson

At this time of the year when it is said that the separation between the living and the dead is thin it might be good to consider another view on what survives after the death of the body.

Readings

Bhagavad Gita chapter 2
As the lord of this mortal frame experienceth therein infancy, youth, and old age, so in future incarnations will it meet the same. One who is confirmed in this belief is not disturbed by anything that may come to pass. As a man throweth away old garments and putteth on new, even so the dweller in the body, having quitted its old mortal frames, entereth into others which are new.

Benjamin Franklin’s Epitaph
The body of B. Franklin, Printer (Like the Cover of an Old Book Its Contents torn Out And Stript of its Lettering and Gilding) Lies Here, Food for Worms. But the Work shall not be Lost; For it will (as he Believ’d) Appear once More In a New and More Elegant Edition Revised and Corrected By the Author.

Gottfried de Purucker
“We are here because we have been here before, because here we sowed seeds of destiny, and we come back on this earth to reap those seeds which we sowed. This universe, governed by cosmic law, will not allow us to sow corn or wheat in San Diego County, and three or four months afterwards travel into Arizona or Nevada and attempt to reap the corn and wheat there. Where we sowed the seeds, there shall we reap the harvest. It is obvious. Our very being here, to the man who can think clearly and logically from step to step, or thought to thought, is a proof of reincarnation. Otherwise we must say cosmic law put us here by chance. And who believes that? If fortuity governed this world we would see the stars in their courses and all the planets running helter skelter all over the cosmic spaces without law, without reason, without order, without intelligence, without system”.

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A brief look into the many religions of the world, both ancient and modern, both eastern and western allows us to see that the idea of rebirth and the preexistence of the soul is a central concept of them all. [Read more…]

October 16
by Rev. Emma Chattin

First Reading

Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

For everything there is a season,
and a time for every purpose under heaven:
a time to be born,
and a time to die;
a time to plant,
and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill,
and a time to heal; a time to break down,
and a time to build up;

a time to weep,
and a time to laugh; a time to mourn,
and a time to dance; 5a time to throw away stones,
and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace,
and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek,
and a time to lose;
a time to keep,
and a time to throw away;
a time to tear,
and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence,
and a time to speak;
a time to love,
and a time to hate; a time for war,
and a time for peace.

Second Reading

From Richard Rohr in Hope Against Darkness: The Transforming Vision of Saint Francis in an Age of Anxiety

Our age has been called the age of anxiety, and I think it’s probably a good description for this time.  We no longer know where our foundations are.  When we’re not sure what is certain, when the world, and our world view, keep being redefined every few months, we’re going to be anxious.  And we want to get rid of that anxiety as quickly as we can!  Yet, to be a good leader of anything today – to be a good pastor, a good bishop, a good father, a good mother… (you fill in the blank) .. you have to be able to contain, to hold patiently, a certain degree of anxiety. Leaders who cannot hold anxiety will never lead you to any place new.  That’s probably why the Bible says so often, “Be not afraid.”  (I have a printout that notes the phrase appearing 365 times!)

If you cannot calmly hold a certain degree of anxiety you will always be looking for somewhere to expel it.  Expelling what you can’t embrace gives you an identity, but it’s a negative identity.  It’s not life energy, it’s death energy.  Formulating what you are against gives you a very quick sense of yourself.  Thus, most people fall for it.  People more easily define themselves by what they are against, by who they hate, by who  is wrong, by what is wrong, instead of by what they believe in and who they love.

I hope you see from this common pattern how different the alternative is.  If so, you might catch anew the radical and scary nature of faith, because faith only builds on that totally positive place within, no matter how small.  It just needs an interior “Yes” to begin….  (That is the foundation)… and that is why faith is always rare.  Religious group-identity all too often becomes its replacement.  We don’t have to find and live from a positive loving place.  We can just go to church.

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Uncertain Times

We live in uncertain times.
Hurricanes.  Wildfires.  Floods.  Historic droughts.
Tornados. An earthquake…. in Virginia!
Gay Pride… in Elkton!!!
Woah…. I did NOT see that one coming!

Not all unexpected events are bad….
And while there may be some in this very Valley who will be quick to blame any destructive natural event on some sort of divine judgment for this perceived wrong…
or that perceived wrong… such divine assignment of responsibility
is nearly as old as the hills and the volcanoes that made them.

Humanity is all too quick to search for some sense of sense in the face of the senseless, some certainty in the face of uncertainty.   Truth is, most ancient religions regarded God (or the gods) to be controllable- placated, manipulated, through ritual and human sacrifice.  Around the time of Abraham, we see a shift in sacrifice from human to animal… sheep… goats… offerings to please God… to garner God’s attention and favor….good things were automatically the result of some blessing… [Read more…]

ASSOCIATION SUNDAY – October 2, 2011
Rev. Mike Quayle

Today Unitarian Universalists gather in churches, meeting houses, and some in rented spaces.    Some of the buildings are sprawling Gothic Cathedral-like structures.  Others are white clapboard churches.  Some are modern buildings which look more like spaceships than churches.  Others are traditional church buildings “recycled” from churches which have closed and still retain symbols like stained glass windows of the Last Supper or Jesus rising from the tomb.  Some meet in public school buildings.  Others in a college auditorium.  I recently read about one UU congregation that uses a local funeral chapel  to gather.  Then there are our friends in Lexington who meet in the courthouse.  And of, course, I know of one congregation that meets in an old schoolhouse!

Some have no more than ten people gathering.  Others have hundreds in attendance.  Still other UU’s have no congregation near them so they are part of the Church of the Larger Fellowship;  a sort of virtual church that relies on internet access and large gatherings throughout the year.

All are Unitarian Universalists gathering together to live out our commitment to each other and to the world.

We gather to be inspired.  We gather to challenge each other and our   world.  We gather to speak words of comfort to each other.  At times, we bicker with each other.  We debate and we argue.  We struggle to  find answers to life’s most challenging questions. [Read more…]

Rev. Mike Quayle
Labor Day 2011

Today we pause to reflect on the meaning of Labor Day. For many of us the arrival of Labor Day marks the end of summer, schools have resumed, vacations have been taken and the church schedule returns to a predictable rhythm.

In many places, politicians emerge during Labor Day celebrations and rally their supporters with stirring speeches and great promises of what the party will accomplish in the coming year. Those seeking office use this day as a platform to rally support and gather votes.

Families gather; picnics are held; and we all hope for a final weekend of good weather.

The first Labor Day was observed in 1878 in Boston. It became a federal holiday in 1894 following the deaths of a number of worker’s at the hands of the US Military and US Marshals during the Pullman Strike. Within six days of the end of the strike and fearing more protests, congress rushed through legislation mandating a federal holiday in hopes of avoiding more violence.

For most who gather this weekend, there will be little thought about the origins of the day or reflection on the meaning of work.

I don’t know about you, but I grew up in a time and place where there was an unspoken agreement between the employer and the worker. I still recall the days when the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company dominated the lives of my father and my uncles. Generations of Quayle’s had worked in the Iron Mines. Some had died when conditions were so unsafe that cave-ins were frequent.

Our neighborhoods were named by the mine. The mine owned all of the land and to this day homeowners hold 100 year leases on the land for the sum of $1.00.

I remember going to the company store. I can also recall when pay for the miners was in the form of “credits” at the company store with cash making up only a part of the pay.

Then the unions came in. The United Mine Workers promised that if the miners organized, they would find the good life, higher pay, freedom from intolerable work conditions and a better future for their children.

Strikes were a frequent event. Whenever the contract were about to expire, the union would present a list of demands and the Iron Company would counter. Some of the strikes went for several months and meals got very simple. When a new contract was signed, there were parties and picnics.

But, underlying all of that was a basic belief that, in the end, an agreement WOULD be reached and life would go on. We believed in the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company and we thought they believed in us and would always be there to take care of us. Most young men who graduated from my high school had their future set. They would work in the mine as had their fathers and grandfathers. It was our way of life. [Read more…]

We are disappointed to find the following edict in a UUA pamphlet that is available on a table in our sanctuary, headed “10 Things Your Congregation Can Do To Become More Welcoming”:

“Avoid using words which are necessarily gender specific. Use the word ‘children’ instead of ‘boys and girls’ and ‘people’ instead of ‘women and men.’” (It’s Item No. 8 in an updated version of the pamphlet; an earlier version is on the UUA website.)

We live in a time when misguided, however well-meaning, people try to wipe out prejudice by sterilizing the language. Do they expect to prevent sexism or homophobia by stamping out awareness of sex or gender? Once that step has been taken, will someone next perceive speciesism in the use of “people” and demand we say “creatures” instead? Must “creatures” then be replaced by “life-forms;” next, by “things”?

Will any of these measures add the tiniest spark of kindness to the world?

In George Orwell’s famous essay, “Politics and the English Language,” he laments a trend for prose to move “away from concreteness.” He writes that “Orthodoxy, of whatever color, seems to demand a lifeless, imitative style. . .The great enemy of clear language is insincerity.” Citing vagueness as a tactic in propaganda and exploitation, he makes the case for “language as an instrument for expressing and not for concealing or preventing thought.”

Orwell might turn over in his grave.

But at least we are not being stopped at the door and given instructions not to say “women,” “men,” “boys,” “girls,” etc. Not yet. How “welcoming” would that be?

Chris Edwards and Robin McNallie

Choral Reading
By Rev. Mike Quayle
PRIDE Sunday

Starting quietly, stirring deep in the
hearts of those oppressed;
Growing louder, catching fire;
spreading throughout the land;
The arc of the universe bends
toward justice.

1969

The Stonewall riots transform the gay
rights movement. Patrons at the
Stonewall Inn fight back during a
police raid, sparking three days of
riots and giving birth to a movement.

Starting quietly, stirring deep in the
hearts of those oppressed;
Growing louder, catching fire;
spreading throughout the land;
The arc of the universe bends
toward justice.

1973

The American Psychiatric Association
removes homosexuality from its
official list of mental disorders.

Starting Quietly, stirring deep in the
hearts of those oppressed;
Growing louder, catching fire;
spreading throughout the land;
The arc of the universe bends
toward justice.

1978

Harvey Milk is assassinated in
San Francisco, California due to
his support for GLBT persons and
his advocacy for other minorities.

Starting quietly, stirring deep in the
hearts of those oppressed;
growing louder, catching fire;
spreading throughout the land;
The arc of the universe bends
toward justice.

1982

Wisconsin becomes the first state
to outlaw discrimination based
on sexual orientation.

Starting quietly, stirring deep in the
hearts of those oppressed;
growing louder, catching fire;
spreading throughout the land;
The arc of the universe bends
toward justice.

1988

Rebecca Wright and her partner,
Claudia Brenner, were shot
while camping along the Appalachian
Trail. The shooter was enraged
because of their perceived
lesbianism.

Starting quietly, stirring deep in the
hearts of those oppressed;
Growing louder, catching fire;
spreading throughout the land;
The arc of the universe bends
toward justice.

1993

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” becomes the
official policy of the US military
leading to the discharge of
thousands of men and women
serving proudly.

Starting quietly, stirring deep in the
Hearts of the oppressed;
Growing louder, catching fire;
spreading throughout the land;
The arc of the universe bends
toward justice.

1995

Roxanne Ellis and Michelle Abdill, a lesbian
couple in Oregon, were murdered by a
man who said, “he had no compassion
for bisexual or homosexual people.”

Starting quietly, stirring deep in the
hearts of those oppressed;
growing louder, catching fire;
spreading throughout the land.
The arc of the universe bends
toward justice.

1998

Matthew Sephard, a gay student, was
tortured, beaten, tied to a fence, and
abandoned. He hung there for 18 hours
before being found and died less than a
week later.

Starting quietly, stirring deep in the
hearts of those oppressed;
growing louder, catching fire;
spreading throughout the land;
The arc of the universe bends
toward justice.

1999

U.S. Army Pfc. Barry Winchell, was
murdered after rumors spread on
base in Ft. Campbell Kentucky over
his relationship with transgendered
Calpernia Addams.

Starting quietly, stirring deep in the
hearts of those oppressed;
growing louder, catching fire;
spreading throughout the land;
The arc of the universe bends
toward justice.

2000

Vermont becomes the first state
to legalize civil unions.
Ronald Gay enters a bar in Roanoke
and opens fire on patrons. He claimed he
had been told by God to find and kill
lesbians and gay men.

Starting quietly, stirring deep in the
hearts of those oppressed;
growing louder, catching fire;
The arc of the uinverse bends
toward justice.

2003

Nireah Johnson and Brandie Coleman
were shot to death after Paul Moore
found out that Nireah was transgender. He
then burned the bodies of the victims.

2004

Same-sex marriage becomes legal in
Massachusetts

2005

Civil unions become legal in Connecticut
and, in 2006, unions become legal in
New Jersey.

Starting quietly, stirring deep in the
hearts of those oppressed;
growing louder, catching fire;
The arc of the universe bends
toward justice.

2007

Andrew Anthos, a 72 year old, disabled gay
man, was beaten to death with a lead pipe
by a man shouting anti-gay slurs.

The US House of Representatives
approves a bill ensuring equal rights for
gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals.

2008

In May, the California Supreme Court
rules that same-sex couples have the right
to marry, in November, voters pass a
ban that overturned the court’s ruling.
In October, the Supreme Court of
Connecticut rules that same-sex
couples have the right ot marry.
Two persons were killed and several
injured when during the worship service
of Tennesseee Valley Unitarian Universalist
Church, a man began shooting and later
said he disliked the congregations support
of gays and liberal causes.

Starting quietly, stirring deep in the
hearts of those oppressed;
growing louder, catching fire;
The arc of the universe bends
toward justice.

2009

Iowa approves same- sex marriages.
Vermont approves same-sex marriages.
New Hampshire approves same-sex
marriages.
Seaman August Provost was shot and his
body burned at his guard post on
Camp Pendleton. Military leaders
concluded that the “Don’t ask-Don’t Tell” policy
prevented Provost from seeking help and
protection.
President Obama posthumously awards
Harvey Milk the Presidential Medal of
Honor.

Starting quietly, stirring deep in the
hearts of those oppressed;
growing louder, catching fire;
The arc of the universe bends
toward justice.

2010

The U.S. Congress approves a law that
allows same-sex marriage in the District of
Columbia.
Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker rules
that California’s ban on same-sex marriage
is unconstitutional and violates the 14th
Amendment of the Constitution.

STARTING QUIETLY, STIRRING DEEP IN THE
HEARTS OF THOSE OPPRESSED;
GROWING LOUDER, CATCHING FIRE;
THE ARC OF THE UNIVERSE BENDS
TOWARD JUSTICE.

2011

The State of New York passes a law
that allows same-sex couples to marry.
New York is the largest state to pass such
a law.

Friday July 22,
US president Obama signs
Into law the official end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
Allowing men and women to serve
Openly in the US Military.

Unitarian Universalists from all over
gather in Charlotte, North Carolina to
rally for GLBT equal rights and to “Stand on
The Side of Love.”

Harrisonburg Unitarian Universalists
Gather today for the 5^th annual “Pride in the
Park Celebration.

STARTING QUIETLY, STIRRING DEEP IN THE
HEARTS OF THOSE OPPRESSED;
GROWING LOUDER, CATCHING FIRE;
THE ARC OF THE UNIVERSE BENDS
TOWARD JUSTICE.

STARTING QUIETLY, STIRRING DEEP IN THE
HEARTS OF THOSE OPPRESSED;
GROWING LOUDER, CATCHING FIRE;
THE ARC OF THE UNIVERSE BENDS
TOWARD JUSTICE.

July 24, 2011

Mike Quayle

There are those who ask, “Why do we need to keep on talking about GLBT rights ? Is this really something we need to talk about in a church or congregational setting.” Then there are those who are just tired of hearing about it. Some wish we would just move on and talk about something else. It is my greatest hope that the day will come when we can stop talking about this.

The goal of any great movement; women’s rights, reproductive rights, the right to die, racial equality, the green movement, the peace movement, and the right to love whomever one chooses to love, ought to have as the final goal, becoming obsolete. The sure sign of the success of ANY movement is when the movement is no longer needed. When speaking about the goals or beliefs of the movement becomes redundant. This morning, in our choral reading called, “The Arc of the Universe Bends Toward Justice,” we retraced the steps of the GLBT movement. Of course, the movement is much older that the reading would indicate; There were countless others who stood for this movement. Thousands of others who gave their careers, resources, and even their lives. Thousands of others who were murdered or tortured for the cause….

But, in the brief summary we heard today of this movement, we realize that we are standing on the shoulders of those who went before us. We realize that any progress we have made, any rights we have gained, have been passed to us as a gift from those who stood strong in the face of insurmountable odds

Many of the worlds religious movements have at their core the ideal of self-sacrifice for one’s beliefs. Before Christianity became entrenched in doctrinal and theological debates over the meaning of the atonement and the death of Christ on a cross, we had a simple truth. The world does not like to be challenged. Society does not like to be questioned about assumed values. The status quo enjoys the power of being in charge.

[Read more…]