Akilter - The importance of potlucks in Unitarian Universalism

by Barry Walker

Beecham, MA - The Unitarian Universalist church is holding a pot luck supper this Friday night. Craig Barlow stated that he is really looking forward to it because Mrs. Wilsey will be bringing her green bean casserole which she makes with mushroom soup and bacon bits. "Everybody has their favorite dish," said Craig, "which is what makes it so wonderful. This is the main reason why I love this church - its pot luck dinners."

The UU church is a small church, they are lucky if they get 15 people to a service, but usually the number at the pot lucks doubles because church members come and bring friends. "We don't have a minister," said Lynette Wilsey, "because we can't afford one, but who needs a minister, really, when you can have pot lucks?"

Besides the food itself, the pot luckers say, they enjoy the fellowship, the gossip about what's going on in town, and the men talk about the Patriots football, but outside of that we stay away from topics that might be divisive like politics and religion. "We just get together to enjoy the food and each others company," said Heather MacNamara who is the youngest member of the congregation at age 47.

"Unitarian Universalism is a dying denomination," said Doug Anderson, "because we don't believe in anything other than being nice to each other, and you know what they say about 'nice guys finishing last.' A way to a man's heart is through his stomach so we consider our potlucks outreach, you know, missionary activity of sorts." Fred Dickson weighed in, "God, in whom we don't necessarily believe, would, I think, be very pleased because we get along together, and as Jesus told us, to love one another."

"Mrs. Wilsey's green bean casserole is made with love," said Craig. "I can taste the love in the beans and that's what church is all about."

Stephen Daily - Vulnerability undermines worth and dignity

by Stephen Daily

Perhaps the greatest impediment to miracle readiness or the appreciation of the first principle of the inherent worth and dignity of every person is the unconscious fear of our own deep seated, innate defectiveness and inadequacy. This unconscious sense of unworthiness gives rise to a chronic anxiety of being vulnerable to shaming. This fear of being shamed leads to repression or what we have more colloquially called "denial". This repression and denial gives rise to lying, pretense, hypocrisy, arrogance, and "control issues". The "need to be right" leads to power struggles with ourselves and others contributing to a psychological, biological, and spiritual toxic brew of emotions which are conscious and largely unconscious. The sad observation is that none of this anxiety and hell on earth is necessary because we are all okay as we are if only we could develop the cosmic consciousness to become aware of this spiritual reality.

Unitarian Universalism's first principle which directly states that each person has worth and dignity is amazing in our culture where the myth of scarcity and defectiveness is the air we breath. It seems that the denial and repression of our feared inadequacies and defectiveness block our awareness of first, the worth and dignity of ourselves, and then our fellow human beings. Being in a capitalist society where the marketing of products and services is based on advertising depicting needs, often needs we didn't even know we have, is based on a competitive comparison with others leaving us feeling unworthy, with lesser dignity, which can only be ameliorated by the purchase of the advertised products or services.

Our capitalist materialistic system of economics is based on a deficiency model of scarcity. Perhaps, Unitarian Universalists have not recognized before or if so, often enough, that the whole economic system of our society which is killing us because of its toxic impact on our physical environment is based on a deficiency model constantly telling us that we are inadequate in some way as compared to other people and therefore must spend money on the advertisers goods.

In more traditional religions, those with a religious vocation often take vows of voluntary poverty. There are many reasons and influences in this spiritual practice, but perhaps one of the most important reason is the recognition that on a spiritual level a person's worth and dignity does not depend on material wealth to repair cultural stimulated deficicences. If we would have true peace and joy it will require the recognition of our intrinsic beauty as the creation of the Spirit Of Life, not only our own beauty but that of all our fellow human beings. Rejecting the myths of scarcity, and recognizing the fears of vulnerability precipitated by shaming is liberating for us and for all human beings.

Editor's note;

Stephen Daily is a psychotherapist and will be writing regularly in 2015 on UU A Way Of Life  about the emotional and psychological influence of UU values and understandings on our lives as individuals and as a human family.

Susan Schmidt - Are you miracle ready?

By Susan Schmidt

David Markham in his Tuesday night class #3 discusses the meaning of the word "person" in the first principle of Unitarian Universalism. He asks the question, "What does it mean when we say the "person" has worth and dignity?"

My understanding of A Course In Miracles is that humanity is on an evolutionary trajectory to become aware of the Atonement which is, in Course terms, better articulated as the At-One-Ment. John Lennon in his great song, Imagine, points to the awareness of this reality when we humans are able to rise above our divisions demarcated by national boundaries, religious creeds, colors, sexual orientations, sex, and any number of other dividing practices that we humans engage in in an attempt to make ourselves unique and special. What we forget when we engage in these dividing practices is "yes, we are special and unique just like everyone else."

Unitarian Universalism takes us closer to the awareness that Mr. Markham is pointing to when we consider our seventh principle, the respect for the interdependent web of all existence. Rev. James Ford describes himself and a few other UU pastors as "first and seventh principle preachers." It would seem that all Unitarian Universalists who really embrace the UU Way Of Life should be first and seventh principle UUs.

Mr. Markham quotes A Course in Miracles when he says in his talk, "Miracles arise from a mind that is ready for them. By being united this mind goes out to everyone, even without the awareness of the miracle worker himself." T-1.III.7:7-8 The question might be are you ready, are we ready as a church, to work miracles? A miracle in the Course's terms is a change in perception. A miracle is seeing the world in a new and different way than the way of the ego. A miracle is when the light bulb goes on and we have a rise in consciousness and we realize the wholeness of life and that we are utterly dependent on the whole and in this realization are filled with gratitude.

It says in the Course, "You respond to what you perceive, and as you perceive so shall you behave." T-1.III.6:1

"Since you and your neighbor are equal members of one family, as you perceive both so you will do to both. You should look out from the perception of your holiness to the holiness of others." T-1.III.6:6-7

May you experience your day as a miracle.

Editor's note:

Susan Schmidt is a long time student of A Course In Miracles, and she is interested in studying the resonance of the Course with Unitarian Universalist values and understandings. She will be writing a regular column for UU A Way Of Life.

Tuesday night class #3, The person = unit of survival = organism and environment

Tuesday night class #2 - How to love your enemy.

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Tuesday night class - The first principle of UU. What is a "person"?

This is the first class of 16 in a weekly series on the First Principle of Unitarian Universalism the inherent worth and dignity of every person. This first video deals with the idea of what is a "person" who has worth and dignity?

Tuesday night class begins on 12/02/14