I’m sure it’s not forever, and perhaps not ever for long, but these few months have been pleasant and strangely instructive. The exact reasons? Well, Ms. Theologian pretty well sums it up. Except that my farmers’ market closes at 1pm.
Category: Church mission and identity
The video I wish I the UUA had made
I am disappointed by the stodgy, over-produced and old-fashioned video to promote the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Association Sunday. It felt like I was being sold something and I wasn’t buying it (in any meaning of the idiom.) I think we should have spared the production and have gotten the rights to use this video by… Continue reading The video I wish I the UUA had made
Unitarian Universalist church planters: not Christian but well-defined
I’m curious, are there Unitarian Universalists out there who are (1) not Christian, (2) come from a well-defined theological cohort, like the Humanists or Pagans and (3) advocate and plan for new congregation development? Please comment
Terms as the Uniting Church of Australia defines them
From paragraph three of the Uniting Church of Australia constitution. A couple of interesting concepts, simply described. Not all would work with Unitarian Universalists, and the UUA shouldn’t come up with a glossary including terms like these — their polity is presbyerial — but I think a congregation reasonably should, to help clarify terms and… Continue reading Terms as the Uniting Church of Australia defines them
UUA Drupal Love
A while back, I mentioned that the tee-tiny Upper Delaware Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Beech Lake, Pennsylvania has a website that punches far above its weight, and that it is powered by the free and open-source Drupal content management system. I love Drupal to pieces and UniversalistChurch.net runs on it. But it can do far,… Continue reading UUA Drupal Love
More than churches are emerging
I was watching Nova scienceNow on PBS tonight and they had a segment on “emergence” — that is, leaderless organization towards greater complexity. I love this stuff: makes me go all geeky-gooey, thinking about synchronicity and ending up with a copy of the Whole Earth Catalog. (From which I also got my childhood geodesic dome,… Continue reading More than churches are emerging
If I was Jewish, looking for a congregation
I’m in the middle of a chavurah (Hebrew חבורה, also spelled havurah, plural havurot) research kick. These small Jewish groups — often translated as “fellowships”; the root word means “friend” — have been an incredible force for transforming Jewish community life by increasing participation, changing expectation of community life and often times introducing egalitarian and… Continue reading If I was Jewish, looking for a congregation
Megachurches: be careful what you want
A while back, Kevin D. Johnson (Reformed Catholicism) wrote about the strain megachurch pastor Mark Driscoll faces and the Faustian bargain that megachurch pastors often make. Now Driscoll just gives me the creeps, but I can imagine some would be quite jealous of what he’s accomplished. A cautionary tale of getting what you ask for.
Who’s unchurched? I’m unchurched! You’re unchurched!
Joshua Cody, writing at Church Marketing Sucks, reviews recent Barna Institute research on who’s unchurched. Hmm. Gays are high on the list. Also liberals. And singles. (Since it seems most demographers treat Hubby and me as a pair of bachelors saving money on living expenses. I have a visceral hatred of ticking “single” on my… Continue reading Who’s unchurched? I’m unchurched! You’re unchurched!
Beautiful
I’m waiting with baited breath for The Rev. Victoria Weinstein’s segment on Nightline. . . . (I knew her when, sniff) Rejoice with her at her Beauty Tips for Ministers blog. The other segments: about Colors, the worker-owned cooperative restaurant created by the surviving members of the Windows on the World restaurant and GodMan, the… Continue reading Beautiful