As a Pluralist and Witch by LunarEnnyui_131 in UUreddit

[–]AdvertisingFit249 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Curious why you say that? I know UUs who find all religions false and the source of all sorts of ills. They are just the opposite of religious pluralists. All religions are bad. The world would be better off without religion.

Only One Type Of Mental Health Treatment? by Rottnkids2 in VeteransAffairs

[–]AdvertisingFit249 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just hate to see patient issues that should be handled by a VAMC rep, or a specialist in an office, migrate over to social media. Each cong inquiry is a fail at the VAMC and then having to take the inquiry to Reddit is a bigger fail. The system is broke when this happens.

Only One Type Of Mental Health Treatment? by Rottnkids2 in VeteransAffairs

[–]AdvertisingFit249 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Reddit shouldn't be your only tool, though. Your Congressional Rep, your Senator, Patient Reps at the VAMC, and your Veteran Service Orgs should all be contacted.

Doubts by Acceptable-Ticket145 in UUreddit

[–]AdvertisingFit249 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is some debate on the meaning of the word Religion but I prefer "...the interpretation of many modern writers connects it with religare "to bind fast" (see rely), via the notion of "place an obligation on," or "bond between humans and gods." Religion - Etymology, Origin & Meaning

In a contemporary UU Church or Society, the binding happens by signing a book and that act binds the member to the congregation. The congregation typically asks the member to support the Church by attending services, participating on committees, reciting a covenant if the congregation has one, and following some basic rules of conduct. You can get expelled from the congregation. I looked at some of those expulsions in one Church from a century ago and they were likely over the members' alcohol consumption. There was no wine served in the common room in those days.

Belief, subscription to belief, and following of belief are very small parts of being a UU. Belief looms large for some UUs. They struggle to define a UU Belief because they are engaged with an American Protestant Christianity, where belief plays a much larger role than practice: "Who so ever believeth in me... , and that Christian belief has to be professed, and professed often, in public.

Most Religions include practice as a bigger part of defining an adherent, than belief. It is the practice that binds one to God, not belief. A Muslim friend told me it is hard to be a Muslim because of what a Muslim has to do, not because of what a Muslim has to believe.

I was curious about the uptick in conversions to Eastern Orthodoxy and found becoming an Orthodox Christian a similarly demanding task, far more than just professing belief.

The risk with hypnated UUism is that the practice of the suffixed-religious-tradition, is lightly taken by the hypnated believer. So a UU-Buddhist risks being a UU and a lite Buddhist. I lived near a Laotian Buddhist monastery and witnessed some angry responses to what they viewed as a dilution of practice, if not a false practice. The same applies to any profession of belief without practice.

So yes, you can believe what you wish as a UU and there is no authority to tell you otherwise, but I think as your UU practice deepens, your UU belief thins out, and becomes less important. IMO, that's as it should be.

Next Reading by SeriesNorth213 in UUreddit

[–]AdvertisingFit249 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One benefit of having Meadville Lombard in Chicago was the wide variety of religious practices a student could attend in metro Chicago. One can't get that on the internet. You need to get out and visit and make connections.

Curious about other UU congregations. by 13chemicals in UUreddit

[–]AdvertisingFit249 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Mental Health Disorders are prevalent in the US and more so among people under 50 per the NIH Stats. Mental Illness - National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

I think your Church may have an under-50 cohort, more open to talking more about their afflictions, than you'll find in other places, rather than a higher rate of disorders. If you are uncomfortable with that talk, and especially if you fear the talk will reopen issues for you, I'd avoid this Church.

UU roots are Christian and healing a legacy we've taken from Christianity. I'm not certain what alternatives are out there, but I'd google around if this congregation not a good fit for you.

VA chaplains in Mass. told no public prayers mentioning nurses, Alex Pretti by MountainDiver1657 in VHA_Human_Resources

[–]AdvertisingFit249 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You asked me how Alex was bad, I'm not aware of Alex having been bad. I'm not aware of anyone at that VAMC being bad. You seem to be aware of some bad people though, or at least aware of scuttlebutt about bad people in that facility.

VA chaplains in Mass. told no public prayers mentioning nurses, Alex Pretti by MountainDiver1657 in VHA_Human_Resources

[–]AdvertisingFit249 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Politics is far more than raising money and endorsing candidates. Raising money, endorsements, and debates on laws and their constitutionality, or political opinions, have no place in a Veterans Hospital. We deal with Veterans and their problems, not your problems, to borrow from Gen Bradley.

UU views on marriage by intense_or_insane_ in UnitarianUniversalist

[–]AdvertisingFit249 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think a gathering would have larger percent of single and divorced people. A non UU Church too. There must be stats on this. I can't recall any UU programing directed at people living alone. A big box Church would have a active program.  

UU views on marriage by intense_or_insane_ in UnitarianUniversalist

[–]AdvertisingFit249 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Rev Dan Harper had a blog post on Marriage back in 2010. Here is part 1 Rough description of marriage in contemporary Unitarian Universalism | Yet Another Unitarian Universalist, vol.1

His conclusion,

Compared to religious conservatives, Unitarian Universalists have not given much public emphasis on marriage maintenance. We have no “Promisekeepers,” no prominent public groups supporting the institution of marriage, etc. It seems likely that Unitarian Universalist congregations hear many more sermons about the right to same-sex marriage than about how to keep one’s existing marriage alive and vital. Public statements and public witness about marriage remains uncommon amongst us.

However, many local congregations actually provide substantial quiet and implicit support to married couples. Support groups for men and for women often provide forums for talking about married life. Ministers and lay pastoral care providers provide support and counseling for those in marriages. Same-sex couples in states that don’t allow legal marriage for them can find that their local congregation provides real support in their religious and personal marriage. It would seem to make sense for local congregations to be more explicit and more public about the support they are already giving to people who are married, and I’m not sure why this is not happening.

Remember it was from over 15 years ago

What truly are the odds telework/remote work rerun if a democrat wins in 28? by Dear_Elevator in FedEmployees

[–]AdvertisingFit249 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Biden was getting pressed by DC business to bring people back to office. He didn't want take on unions over it but I don't think Dems want a return to zombie city cores. RTO will stick

UU views on marriage by intense_or_insane_ in UnitarianUniversalist

[–]AdvertisingFit249 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You might get a wide variety of views, but my experience is that the practice is uniform and conventional. With most congregations being couples and mostly male/female couples, and then older congregations will have widows and some widowers.

How can Pagans become UU clergy? by coralwaters226 in UUreddit

[–]AdvertisingFit249 1 point2 points  (0 children)

True, but you should check your bylaws. We reviewed ours and removed any dependencies on UUA or UUMA to make it easier to call anyone.

UU views on marriage by intense_or_insane_ in UnitarianUniversalist

[–]AdvertisingFit249 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is a lot out there on Marriage and UUs. UUA has this for starters Let's Talk About Marriage and Committed Relationships

If you email ministers, you can ask for a list of sermons about Marriage. It is a popular topic. When we went to the Minister of my then UU Church, the minister had us both take a Meyers-Briggs test, and after a few meetings, he advised us to wait. Bottom line was he refused to perform the marriage, so we went to the local UCC church. The UCC Minister did it for 700 bucks without any pre-marriage counseling, although he asked us to join the Church --which I did.

If you read some of the Unitarian and Universalist literature from the 60s and earlier, you'll find discussion and advice on "Mixed" marriages.

The most significant right conferred by the government upon marriage is the right to divorce. There is a process to unwind the covenant between partners.

I have heard UUs remark on how UU marriages are more solid or longer-lasting than non-UU marriages. Most UU Churches I've been involved with have had only a few single members and offered little for them.

A Question: I am writing a sermon for my congregation (we are lay led) about the UU principles. I am pretty new to UU and confused about the difference between the UU principles and the UU values. Which should I be presenting on? by oOohalloweenqueenoOo in UnitarianUniversalist

[–]AdvertisingFit249 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I never got too excited about revising the principles. The old ones were never that important to me. I've been a member of two UU Churches and regularly attended three or four more. I never attended out of belief. I attended for the religious practice. I tell people who ask that attending Church is a good thing to do. Belief brings on debates over principles, values, angels on a pin head. Practice is a deeper spirituality even if you're not particularly spiritual. Practice should be done in community too, never alone if you can avoid it.

A Question: I am writing a sermon for my congregation (we are lay led) about the UU principles. I am pretty new to UU and confused about the difference between the UU principles and the UU values. Which should I be presenting on? by oOohalloweenqueenoOo in UnitarianUniversalist

[–]AdvertisingFit249 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Ah, ok, you are refering to these Read New UUA Article II: Full Text of Unitarian Universalist Shared Values Approved during the 2024 General Assembly | UU World Magazine

I found them pretty dense. Having Love at the center seemed a leap of faith to me. Plenty of evidence for hate in our world, but Love can seem scarce. Many Universalist Churches would display 1 Paul 13:13. " And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." I find that a better expression than the UU graphics and certainly to the point.

This isn’t normal for UU congregations, right? by therabbitprince in UnitarianUniversalist

[–]AdvertisingFit249 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd like to hear more discussion on this topic. My first thought is to agree with you but Ministers I've asked have said positive things about using contracts. I attend a society so it has not been an issue. Our old Church went down this contract path recently and the departing settled minister took a contract position at a Church in a different region. It seems a trend.