Filed under: Becoming and Being Part of a UU Congregation, Children and Youth, Family Ministry, UU Denomination and Pacific Central District News and Views
“So why, now, have we gone and joined a church? We who, until recently, couldn’t handle being members of anything beyond Netflix?”
http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2010/04/25/family_joins_church
Welcome to Florenda and Stephanie, our new professional child care providers at church. They started in April. Miranda is fully immersed in the job of Religious Education Assistant, after a few weeks of overlap with Janet for training. Read Miranda’s column “Re: RE” soon in the May newsletter. See her if you want to sign the thank you card for Janet.
Filed under: Family Ministry, Ordeals and Observations of Pastor Cranky not elsewhere classified
Last night in downtown San Jose, I saw Benjamin Bratt in “La Mission.” He made this with his director-brother. Lots of issues, color, cultura from SF. In the theater was a crowd from Los Viejitos Silicon Valley Car Club–low riders. Today Bratt Brothers appear at Crest Theater at 11:30 AM in Sacto–they’ll miss me. This movie is definitely worth seeing! *** But, a thunderstorm in SF? I hit the road at 6:30 AM Sunday to head back to Sac. Don’t start the service without me!
PS–don’t forget to register for District Assembly.
Filed under: Becoming and Being Part of a UU Congregation, UU Denomination and Pacific Central District News and Views | Tags: California, District Assembly, Fremont, liberal theology, multicultural, UU theology
One of the two major speakers for our May 1 program day at the Pacific Central District Spring Assembly is the Rev. Dr. Paul Rasor. Here is a gem from Paul, and then a longer essay.
Not for the Faint of Heart
Liberal theology is not for the faint of heart. It points us in a general direction without telling us the specific destination. It refuses to make our commitments for us, but holds us accountable to the commitments we make. . . . It invites us to live with ambiguity without giving in to facile compromise; to engage in dialogue without trying to control the conversation; to be open to change without accepting change too casually; to take commitment seriously but not blindly; to be engaged in the culture without succumbing to the culture’s values. Check out our Pacific Central District Assembly April 30-May 1.
Can Unitarian Universalism Change?’
Our tradition has always been responsive to the needs of its time, but are we ready to adapt to our increasingly multicultural society?
http://www.uuworld.org/ideas/articles/158175.shtml
Check out Paul and meet him at our Pacific Central District Assembly April 30-May 1.
Filed under: Becoming and Being Part of a UU Congregation, UU Denomination and Pacific Central District News and Views
Like other mainline Protestant denominations, UUs are facing a shortage of parish clergy as baby boomers retire, and as more of the younger seminarians are feeling called not to church work but to ministry in the larger community: chaplaincy, teaching, counseling, spiritual direction, non-church organizational leadership, social service and social justice organizing and activism.
This article is by a Baptist minister, with his take on the situation. I would say our seminarians are not dissuaded by denominational strife (as in other faith traditions) but it could be that the fact of congregational conflicts and dysfunction in our movement (among other faiths) make parish ministry seem less appealing than an 8-5 job.
http://divinity.uchicago.edu/martycenter/publications/sightings/archive_2010/0408.shtml
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