The Minister's Pages: Bytes of Grass

Faith in the Marvels

Rev. Bret — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 18:44:48 +0000

PODCAST COMING SOON!

Having faith in supernatural miracles isn’t a tenet today of our commonly held faith. Yet, the word “faith” is still used by religious orthodoxy as a bludgeon against those who see faith as an invitation, not a prescription: an invitation to examine what it is that holds us in the grasp of our convictions. More than supernatural miracles, we are interested in supremely natural marvels. Perhaps one of the more remarkable marvels is that of human connection. For us, it’s covenant that makes that possible.

A Vision of the Holy

Rev. Bret — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 18:43:19 +0000

PODCAST COMING SOON!

This summer my head has been buzzing with some of the big questions: What is it that holds me in a grasp of longing to connect with something larger than myself? What is the origin of the call I feel to connect? Who tells me who I am — or what is holy? To whom or what do I belong?

We’re all on a personal journey of the spirit, and we’re also on a journey together. As we say together each week, we are bound together not by a creed, but in covenant. I want to know more about that relationship, don’t you?

We Are Not Alone with Church President Donna Harrison

Rev. Bret — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 16:13:11 +0000

Hope Only Needs Hands and Hearts with the Rev. Mark Adams

Rev. Bret — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 16:07:43 +0000

Does Our Name Mean Anything? with Brian Fergusson

Rev. Bret — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 16:06:44 +0000

The Prodigal Side of the Story with Lora Brandeis

Rev. Bret — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 16:05:13 +0000

Beyond Boston with the Rev. Bret Lortie

Rev. Bret — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 16:04:12 +0000

In June I went to Boston with your church youth group. We visited historic sites and made a pilgrimage to Walden Pond. It’s important to look at the pillars of our faith and examine what has made us who we are. It is also important to look to what is ahead — for us, to what is “beyond Boston.”

The Power of Music with Susan Bruenger

Rev. Bret — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 16:02:09 +0000

What They Died For, A Memorial Day Reflection

Rev. Bret — Sun, 30 May 2010 13:37:14 +0000

Listen Listen Listen, with Sheri Philabaum

Rev. Bret — Sun, 23 May 2010 13:34:48 +0000

Happy Birthday Margaret Fuller: A Chancel Drama

Rev. Bret — Sun, 09 May 2010 16:40:52 +0000

This week is the bicentennial of Margaret Fuller’s birth and UU churches throughout the country are celebrating her life and contributions that helped set the stage for women’s rights in the 20th century. People would travel throughout New England just to participate in one of Fuller’s parlor “conversations” — even paying money to sit and talk with her. (Imagine that?) It was said that only Ralph Waldo Emerson’s intellect was comparable to hers. But she was a lonely person, unable to connect deeply with others, and she certainly didn’t act on any romantic notions until toward the end of her life when she ran off and … well, that would be giving away the end of the story.

Falling Back in Love with the Bible

Rev. Bret — Sun, 02 May 2010 16:40:06 +0000

Many of us have complicated relationships with the Bible. We see how fundamentalists have used it to justify discrimination, and worse. We remember being told it was the “word of God,” and we recoil now that our understanding of the holy is so much larger than a single text can describe.

Yes, sometimes I go too far with a sermon title, but in a playful way my sermon “Falling Back in Love with the Bible” will explore what people of liberal religion can do with the Bible. Over my life I’ve loved the Bible, and rejected it, and loved it, and rejected it, only to come finally to a deeper understanding of the stories and history it contains. Come hear some of my journey with this complicated text that is so much a part of Western culture’s art, literature, and history.

I almost called this week’s sermon “Dr. Strangebook: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bible.” But that would have really been going too far!

YRUU Service

Rev. Bret — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 16:38:43 +0000

Fast Day: An American Tradition

Rev. Bret — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 20:39:12 +0000

Fast Day is a lapsed American tradition which sets aside one day in the spring for fasting, humility and reflection. A fast may be going a day without one, two or three meals. It may mean giving up a daily treat that’s part of a routine. A fast, large or small, is designed to focus one’s attention on a particular issue chosen with care.

An Epic of Creation

Rev. Bret — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 20:42:03 +0000

We often tell our children that we are a religion of the head, heart, and hands. Put another way, we choose to plug into Creation’s story through reason, feeling, and action in the world. This Sunday for Easter, we’ll explore our role in the epic of creation. In three short homilies suitable for all ages, I will explore the intersection between science and religion, the story of Easter, and the flower communion on Norbert Capek.

Postmodern Compassion with Rudolf Harst

Rev. Bret — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:18:30 +0000

Marriage That Works

Rev. Bret — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:08:49 +0000

I was once challenged to preach on “something really useful, like marriage”! It’s not romance or fairy tales that makes a “Marriage That Works,” but there’s plenty to say about staying in relationship with another — for the long haul.

A Liberating Love with Rev. Brent Smith

Rev. Bret — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:19:27 +0000

The Theology of the Matrix

Rev. Bret — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:15:09 +0000

From Star Trek and Star Wars to the Matrix and Avatar, science fiction often serves as a barometer of human hopes and desires for the future. The Matrix is a film about choice, fate, and commitment to a path even … Continue reading →

Bring on the New Year

Rev. Bret — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 22:13:24 +0000

This is a time when hope is in the air, yet significant things need to be done. Our country is facing immigration reform, health care reform, the upswing in the economy, rebounding markets, and so many things important to our … Continue reading →

Unitarian Christianity

Rev. Bret — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 22:39:24 +0000

Like a good “poker name,” our Unitarian faith did not choose its moniker. At the turn of the nineteenth century, there was no organized group called the Unitarians in America, and the liberal Boston clergy who were opposing the Calvanism of “standing order” congregationalist churches were opposed to the sectarianism of denominationalism. The word unitarian was used by the orthodox clergy of Boston to describe, with an unflattering a word as they could find, their liberal opponents.

But as the “Unitarian Controversy” escalated, there was a real need to create some solidarity between like-minded ministers and churches — and to that end, reluctant radical William Ellery Channing stepped up to leadership. His sermon “Unitarian Christianity” was the first time a liberal had embraced the name Unitarian, and it stuck.

Skating to Where the Puck Will Be

Rev. Bret — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 22:26:11 +0000

While saying more about the title will give away the punch line, I will say I will talk about “noble” friendship. It is written that Ananda, a senior disciple of the Buddha, spoke of noble friendship as being “half of the holy life.” To this the Buddha replied,”No it is not. It is the whole of the holy life.” On the path to kindness, this path of noble friendship, the Buddha taught that the first perfection of the heart is generosity.

Standing on the Side of Love

Rev. Bret — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 13:44:07 +0000

Love encompasses all things, the Bible tells us, but it’s up to us to step out of its way. In this age when civil rights are still denied to large numbers of U.S. citizens (especially those denied the right to civil marriage), we must not forget that it was Jesus who taught us to stand on the side of love. Love requires nothing more than opening our hearts to another’s situation without judgment or hypocrisy. When we do so we realize that love is inexhaustible, a source of energy and connection that only becomes more powerful when it’s given away.

Days of Wonder and Awe

Rev. Bret — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 23:01:05 +0000

This service celebrates the beginning of Yom Kippur. It is the culmination of the Jewish High Holy Days begun 10 days before with Rosh Hashanah. Words like atonement, reconciliation, and repentance may not be ones we talk about often, but put into the context of “lashon ha-ra” — or transgressions that we afflict upon each other with our words — the practice of forgiveness takes on a universal flavor.

From Personal to Shared Values

Rev. Bret — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 13:51:56 +0000

As our congregation begins a church-wide process of “Appreciative Inquiry” we ask questions: What’s special about OUR Unitarian Universalist community? What touches our hearts? What are the core values through which we live ethical lives? Where are we powerful in positive ways? What do we do well?

These are organizational questions, but they are personal ones as well. Sunday we will explore the concept of Appreciative Inquiry and how it can be applied to our life together — as well as in our families, marriages, and relationships.

Here We Gather by the River

Rev. Bret — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:00:24 +0000

As the river of life flows through and around us, it is in beloved community that we gather to shares its joys and sorrows, triumphs and defeats.

Sharing the Care

Rev. Bret — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 13:58:47 +0000

A special service to commission our congregation’s new Pastoral Associate team.

Jefferson’s Bible

Rev. Bret — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 23:06:58 +0000

Thomas Jefferson once said the day would come when all Americans would be Unitarians. Although Jefferson’s prediction may not have come true (yet), his legacy contains much that we value today as Unitarian Universalists.

Cowboy Churches and Wrestling for Jesus

Rev. Bret — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 14:04:21 +0000

What is it that gives rise the religious impulse: A human response to the mystery of unknowing? A sense of awe and wonder? Our need to make meaning in a world that contains both chaos and order? Or, perhaps, all … Continue reading →

Lammas Day

Rev. Bret — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 14:07:05 +0000

Breaking bread at harvest time is an ancient ritual that reminds us that we are connected both to the cycles of life and to one another.

Our Sources VI: The Circle of Life

Rev. Bret — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:23:57 +0000

Flying a small Cessna plane around South Texas last week had me thinking. Propelled by forces of air and energy, there was much to consider as I pondered my role in the big scheme of things. What was the carbon footprint of that day’s flying? Could joy really be considered a carbon offset? If not, what can I do to lessen my impact on the earth’s environment?

As I talk about our sixth source (“the spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature”), I will consider: flying, building the space station, the ignorance of two young fishes, and most important, the earth’s fragile environment of which we are all a part.

Our Sources V: To Be Fully Human

Rev. Bret — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 15:20:06 +0000

Like deism, liberal Christianity, transcendentalism, and all the other sources that inform us today, humanism is part of the fabric of our faith. With some 40 percent of us, based on our 2006 survey, professing a humanist understanding of the religion, it remains not only a piece of that tapestry, but the biggest piece. Thank God for sewing machines.

Our Sources IV: Judaism and Christianity

Rev. Bret — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 23:31:31 +0000

Our fourth source of Unitarian Universalism reads:
“The Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God’s love by loving our neighbors as ourselves.” There’s only one catch with this, and that is the Hebrew and Christian scriptures on the surface don’t seem in agreement on what “loving one’s neighbor” means. Is our love based in law, justice, or something deeper?

Our Sources III: Wisdom from the World’s Religions

Rev. Bret — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 23:33:12 +0000

Given our theological diversity, when it comes to Sunday School we sometimes do a better job generating Buddhists, Humanists, Hindus, and Pagans than we do Unitarian Universalists. We must be aware of this trend and offer the kind of religious education for our children and youth that leads to a mature faith based in reason, reverence for Creation, and our liberal religious tradition. My hope is that the way we embrace our theological diversity will lead not to one-way bridges away from our churches, but to two-way bridges of understanding — where our deep appreciation of other faiths builds and strengthens our identities as Unitarian Universalists.

Our Sources II: The Words and Deeds of Prophetic Women and Men

Rev. Bret — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:29:35 +0000

Our Six-part sermon series on our UU sources continues with our Second Source: the words and deeds of prophetic women and men. This podcast also celebrates Mother’s Day, so listen to see how I might possibly fit the two fit … Continue reading →

Our Sources I: Transcendence and Wonder

Rev. Bret — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 23:23:39 +0000

This podcast kicks off six-sermon series on our Unitarian Universalist sources. They often play second fiddle to our UU Seven Principles, but our sources are those traditions and religious threads that inform who and what we are today. From Schleirmacher to the Concord Transcendentalists, our first source is one of feeling and experience. It is how we know what is true — what guides us on our spiritual journeys.

Aging by the Numbers

Rev. Bret — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 21:52:38 +0000

Numbers everywhere — we can’t escape them. Some low numbers are good: blood pressure, federal deficits, interest rates. Other low numbers, not so much: the Dow Jones, I.Q., my CPU’s speed!

Each of us has a number associated with our age, which tells us something about where we are in the progression of our lives. The teen years evaporate into young adulthood into maturity into middle age into the wisdom years. But as I travel through my ministry, I hear so many of my elders ask, “Where did the years go? How did I wind up theage I am? I don’t *feel* … “

The real question might be: Do we too quickly just accept the number that’s been given to us, along with all its associated problems and cares? “Well, I’m 40 so I ought to be growing up by now.” “I’m 50, best to have that mid-life crisis.” “65? Time to retire?”

Perhaps there’s a better way, though, when we start to live our lives as they are right now, as they are given to us in each moment — despite or in spite of the number. On the precipice of my own 43rd year, a year that denotes no particular monument, these are thoughts that cross my mind.

An Epic of Easter

Rev. Bret — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 21:56:28 +0000

The miracle of Easter is that in the depths of our darkest hour we reach out to other people.

Watering our World

Rev. Bret — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 21:58:55 +0000

More valuable than oil, more essential to life: How we treat the precious resource of water may be the key to our future on this planet.

Pray, Meditate, Reflect

Rev. Bret — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 17:23:41 +0000

Prayer? Meditation? Reflection? They’re not all the same! Nick Page joins me on this podcast: he singing, me preaching (and singing), with the congregation joining in. Since the words and music were so integrated, I’ve left in some of the … Continue reading →

The Center Becomes the Whole: Postmodern Religion

Rev. Bret — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 17:21:50 +0000

On February 22 I was invited to preach the installation sermon for Rev. Ellen Cooper-Davis, minister of the Woodlands Church near Houston. Preaching for that special occasion, I thought how much I’d like to share this message about postmodernism and … Continue reading →

Emergent Universalism: Our Heritage and Roots

Rev. Bret — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:20:09 +0000

In our tradition, it’s our Unitarian roots that often get the most play. Yet our Universalist heritage offers much in today’s shifting landscape of religion — and ecumenical connections that should not be missed.

Building Your Own Theology: The Minister’s Story

Rev. Bret — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 19:26:52 +0000

Last week the Building Your Own Theology class shared their credo statements during worship. This week, I share some reflections on building your credo, including the five necessary pieces of a personal theology, concluding with a bit of my own.

Learning to Kythe: Covenant Groups in Practice

Rev. Bret — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:58:20 +0000

This is my sermon on what it means to “kythe,” a necessary skill one builds for active listening in covenant groups, or any situation where it’s more important to open up one’s heart in empathy than it is to … Continue reading →

Crossing the Street: Lessons in Race

Rev. Bret — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:25:42 +0000

Austin Boulevard in Chicago ran between my affluent, middle-class neighborhood and one of Chicago’s roughest enclaves. What does it take for us to “cross that street” of oppression and racism and to risk hearing another’s unfiltered stories?

No regret

Rev. Bret — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 23:40:24 +0000

Sometimes you find wisdom in the oddest places.

In the latest Bond film, there is a moment after the villain’s been foiled, after the car crashes, after America’s (arguably) favorite British spy has survived yet another global threat, where he and “M” (his boss) reflect on the morality of risk and regret. Bond asks M if she has any regrets, especially regarding mistakes she might have made in the course of fulfilling her duties to queen and country. She says: “Of course not, that would be unprofessional.”

In other words, it’s M’s job to take the risks, make the hard calls, even make the mistakes that are part and parcel of her position. Regret? No, that would be unprofessional. That would mean she’s not taking the risks she needs to take.

In Fleming’s book Goldfinger, Bond calls regret the “death-watch beetle in the soul.”

In our own lives, regret exacts a high toll. While remorse for one’s actions can be turned into reflection, redemption and reconciliation, regret just sits there like a bad fruitcake. You don’t want to eat it but you can’t turn it into anything useful. Life is filled with inevitable losses, mis-actions, and mistakes. In the coming year let us look together in all aspects of our lives – in our church life, in our personal connections, and with our community and global responsibilities – for those places where we are stuck in regret, and where a dose of action might move us and our world toward reconciliation.

Regret. Unprofessional. Unproductive.

Enjoy the sermon.

They never told us about the pageant

Rev. Bret — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:08:34 +0000

My first autumn in a Unitarian church was filled with wonder and awe. I loved the “high church” processional, the organ music, the robed choir and minister. Each service was polished and delivered with the love Creation deserves. And then came chaos … our first Christmas pageant. “Nobody told us about the pageant…” but it was then we discovered a deeper meaning about community.

Preaching on the Seven Deadlies at First UU Austin

Rev. Bret — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:21:09 +0000

War, what is it good for?

Rev. Bret — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 23:37:48 +0000

Brian Ferguson, Ministerial Intern from
Live Oak UU Church in Austin, Texas,
shares his sermon: “War – what is it good for?”

The subject of war seems to have been a continuous part of the human
condition. Some religions have taken a strong pacifist and non-violent
stance. Our Unitarian Universalist history has a more ambiguous response
to the subject of war and violence. The author Chris Hedges has even
stated that War is a force that gives us meaning. This sermon will
explore the various religious responses to war and how they can inform our
current response as a religious movement to the current wars and violence
still prevalent in our world.

Waiting for Light

Rev. Bret — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:30:13 +0000

December is the time of Advent. What is it that we wait for when we wait for the coming light? What is in the waiting, and what mystery awaits us in the dark? Or as the Rev. Laurel Hallman once asked, “Is it dark because it’s Christmas, or Christmas because it’s dark?”

[Just a note, the podcast begins about 10 seconds into the "file," so you'll have to wait briefly for it to start.]

Bridging the Gap: From Suffering to Gratitude

Rev. Bret — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:23:36 +0000

The Buddha’s first Noble Truth teaches not that life is suffering, as is commonly mis-translated. Instead, he taught that elements of each human life include suffering. A particular feature of life as a human being is that we all experience suffering in our lives, each according our experience. The second and third Noble Truths teach us about the root of suffering and promise a way out. In this sermon we explore these Noble Truths (which more properly translated simply mean “realities”) and how they offer us a bridge between suffering and a sense of gratitude for the whole of life. It’s a Thanksgiving message for troubled times.

What if?

Rev. Bret — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:50:39 +0000

What if Starbucks marketed itself like a church?

Veteran’s Day 2008: Dear Mr. President

Rev. Bret — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 20:46:22 +0000

As our president-elect considers his national security team and future strategy for our country’s safety, a few unfinished pieces of business to consider — including the abolition of nuclear weapons and protecting our troops in combat.

Death, the economy, and asking for money

Rev. Bret — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:00:58 +0000

This past month First UU Church of San Antonio said goodbye to four members of its community, including three young adults and one pillar of the community. And in the middle of all that sorrow, mixed with the uncertainty and anxiety of a failing economy, the annual stewardship drive landed upon us. How do we juggle all the life throws at us — the grief, the gratitude, and the giving? We do our best in the present moment, which is all we can do.

The church’s successful stewardship drive is now over — but the message remains relevant.

Music from October’s Jazz Sunday

Rev. Bret — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 14:22:22 +0000

Here is some of the music shared on Jazz Sunday in October.

Heinz Frommeyer: Piano
Steve Glaeser: Drums
Adam Booker: Bass
Morgan King: Saxophone

In memory of Devin Zimmerman

Rev. Bret — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 04:03:57 +0000

I would like to share a story about Devin Zimmerman, a member of my congregation who on Monday last was shot in his workplace by a co-worker. I delivered his eulogy this evening. This is a story I shared during that time, along with a slide show of our church grounds that Devin cared for. A slide show during a memorial service? Read on…

On just a couple of occasions Devin shared with me his thoughts about things as he saw them. I valued these opinions because I knew they were carefully considered and grounded in loving relationship. One evening, after a council meeting, he shared with me how we was struggling with my use of projections in worship. “It feels too much like a classroom for me,” he said. “I see Powerpoints all the time. Why do I have to see them in church?” He didn’t see how using technology added to the experience of worship. I took these words to heart and made changes to how we presented things (like making our projections less “Powerpointy”). I also learned something about Devin. He could offer a strongly felt opinion and then, in Buddhist fashion, work toward a middle ground, for about a month later, he came up to me and said he had a suggestion.

“One Sunday,” he said, “instead of the sermon why don’t you just project pictures of our beautiful campus, and let people sit in silence with them?” This revealed to me a person who had the capacity to be in true relationship with another, who could come to a conclusion about something, and then look at another’s point of view and see where there might be common ground. My projector. His flowers and trees.

To honor Devin, I made his suggestion happen, and this evening we sat in silence for several minutes watching images of the plants he loved so much. The photographs were mostly taken by Devin. I took the ones at the end. I invite you to watch the slide show, perhaps in intentional silence, and remember that the greatest victory is sticking with love even when faced with hate and loss.

Devin’s gardens

Solidarity in diversity

Rev. Bret — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:36:19 +0000

On Solidarity Sunday we’re asked to stand beside our gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender brothers and sisters and proclaim to the world that we will always, to the best of our ability, stand on the side of love — no matter who someone is called to love. For Unitarian Universalists, this may not be new to us, so we can also use this occasion to examine other ways in which we might stand with others in solidarity, in our congregations, in our communities, in our world. This sermon includes the story of Bishop Carleton Pearson, an evangelical minister who awakened to the universalist truth that all are loved in a loving and just divine creation. He lost his mega-church and many friends, but he and his New Dimensions congregation eventually found connection with our liberal religious tradition at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa. It is an inspiring story.

Sunday jazz in September

Rev. Bret — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:25:01 +0000

Jazz from our September 21st service featuring…

Heinz Frommeyer: Piano
Steve Glaeser: Drums
Adam Booker: Bass
Morgan King: Saxophone

The way things ought to be

Rev. Bret — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:14:14 +0000

At the Alaska State Museum in Juneau, I came across a case of small figures that caught my attention.

They were called “Billikens,” or “gods of the way things ought to be.” Each little figure had similar devilish features: slightly pointed ears, a wry grim, and eyes that seemed to say, “Are you sure you want it that way?” These are little gods to which we might all relate, for we each have an ideal of the way things ought to be.

These ideals include our thoughts about church: the perfect size; suitable topics for the sermon; how children, and some adults, should behave during worship; how to spend our resources. Over time, we learn to be generous enough to let others Billikens have some playful space in our community alongside ours. As long as our Billiken is satisfied once in a while, we let other Billikens run a little wild.

We all have a god of the way things ought to be!

Religion and Politics

Rev. Bret — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:27:31 +0000

Yesterday I went to the polls to vote. I’ve been waiting months to take that tangible step of punching my straight [*****] party ticket. I love how at the end of the electronic ballot a bright red flashing button lights up that says “Vote!” Of course, I voted for Senator [*****] in the presidential race.

[And of course, since this Webpage is linked from the First Church Website, I've taken out proper nouns to protect our status as a non-partisan religious institution!]

After the partisan choices on the ballot there was an important measure: Term limits for our mayor and city council. Currently our elected city officials serve a two-year term and then can be elected only to a single second term. Put another way, they spend the first two years getting up to speed, then the second as lame ducks. If passed, the new term limits would allow four two-year terms, so if someone is doing a good job, and we continue to vote for them, they can serve up to eight years. I support more flexible and democratic term limits. I voted “yes” on this non-partisan measure.

Before anyone cries foul, it’s important to note the difference between the above two paragraphs. In the first, our church is prohibited from taking a position. Currently some evangelical churches are challenging this prohibition by endorsing political candidates. I am against these efforts to turn churches into personal forums for candidates or parties.

However, it is the church’s duty to take stands on important ethical issues of our times. We do take political stands. For example, our first principle calls us to support equal marriage rights and to challenge “don’t ask, don’t tell policies.” Some Unitarian churches have spoken out against particular military conflicts, others on gun control or drug policies. These issues are inherently political, just not partisan. Even if a particular position is advocated by a political party, the issue itself is not inherently partisan — and therefore fair game.

One great sadness in our nineteenth-century Unitarian heritage is how most of our Boston ministers and churches did not speak out against slavery. One notable exception was Theodore Parker, who kept a gun in his desk in case he needed to defend an escaped slave. Boston’s elite Unitarian churches, whose financial resources were bound up in the slave trade, turned their backs on him—but Parker stood by our tradition of a free pulpit and spoke out on the most important and difficult political issue of his day.

To this day the freedom of our pulpit is absolute. My covenanted letter of call guarantees as a basic premise “that the pulpit is free and untrammeled. The Minister is expected to express his or her values, views, and commitments without fear or favor.” This freedom extends to those who take up the pulpit when the minister is away. Likewise in our tradition, what is said from the pulpit is not an official statement of a church position—only the view of the speaker.

We need not believe alike to love alike, the old saying goes, and I hope that as we engage the hot political issues of our day we continue not to shy away from those which speak to our values. For me (and I must speak only for myself, not the church), reasonable term limits support our fifth principle: “The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process.” Without fair term limits, I believe democracy can be subverted.

I hope that the process of wrestling with tough issues (political and ethical) affirms our commitment to our third principle: “Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations.” There will be times when we do not agree with a trend in the church or something being said, but we support and encourage each other by sharing our views and religious journeys. We value, we love, we grow. May we continue to be together in faith, reason, and community.

UU and the emergent church

Rev. Bret — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 04:31:24 +0000

The emergent church is challenging Christianity to move away from creedalism, dogma, and judgement and toward reconciliation, toleration, and pluralism. Sounds a little like liberal religion! While the emergent church is still deeply rooted in the idea of the confession of sin (especially relational ones) and the primacy of Jesus’ teachings, it questions any practice that would damn some souls to hell, and others to heaven. These universalist brothers and sisters of faith are worth taking seriously as they assert a challenge within their own faith tradition for a more inclusive and loving practice of religion.

Links from today’s service

Rev. Bret — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 20:23:36 +0000

I promised I’d post the video links from today’s service, so here they are. There’s also lots of great info on the parent website if you’re looking for more about today’s topic on the emergent church movement. I’ll be posting my sermon podcast on Monday or Tuesday when I edit down the MP3 file for you.

I just noticed under the multimedia link on Tony Jones’ website an interview with Jones and Diana Butler Bass. That might be worth a listen as well.

Keep those religious universal translators tuned, and your hearts open! It’s not Unitarian Universalism — but it’s encouraging to consider the commonalities we may have with these kindred souls as we work for more acceptance and diversity in our world, as well as connection and healing.

How I know I’m a Texan

Rev. Bret — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 04:30:22 +0000

Haven’t graced my blog with many musings lately, but I’ve been having them. This week I realized that Texas is starting to seep into my bones. Here’s a few examples:

- I let slip a “y’all” in my sermon last week (it was noticed…)

- I realized that you swing on a porch swing because it generates the slightest breeze as you go back and forth, back and forth

- highs in the mid-90s felt like blessed relief, not a heat wave

- I bought a truck when my car gave up the ghost last week
(a tiny four-cylinder truck… but still room for the dog in back!)*

* Just kidding about the dog…

Liberal Religion: why should I care?

Rev. Bret — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:53:38 +0000

What makes liberal religion useful in the world if it doesn’t address suffering and evil? Ours must be a robust and principled faith that we practice in our lives.

Mary Baker Eddy’s Science of Mind Healing

Rev. Bret — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 22:11:25 +0000

On this Sunday I explored some of my own theological roots, as well as connections between our own Transcendentalism and the New Thought movement of Christian Science.

If the player below doesn’t work, click here to listen.

The seasons turn

Rev. Bret — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:30:02 +0000

The flowers are beginning to bloom again and I’m reminded how beautiful a city is San Antonio. Everywhere there is green and color. A crepe myrtle tree that we didn’t even know we had is a vibrant pink outside the back door, and our pomegranate bushes are starting to bear fruit. The rains have arrived and the oppressive temperatures are beginning to break. Nature is reclaiming its foothold. Spring is finally here.

But wait… ooops. That’s what it feels like, but actually, the color and blooms signals the coming of fall. My internal clock, still set to northern climes, is askew six months. This is still going to take some getting used to!

I am reminded that sometimes the body takes a longer time to catch onto something new than our heads.

P.S. I’m still trying to get the podcast to work. Almost there…

Seven deadly UU sins

Rev. Bret — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:32:59 +0000

What are the seven sins, or negative actions against one another and Nature, that a liberal religious tradition is most challenged to address? After much futzing with the original deadly ones, one finds that as categories, they aren’t bad–just badly in need of reinterpretation through a Unitarian Universalist lens. Click here to listen.

Noticing live oaks

Rev. Bret — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 03:39:37 +0000

Today I noticed for the first time the Live Oak outside my office window. I’ve seen it hundreds of times, even stared into its branches one Sunday morning watching a fox watch me. But I’d never noticed that it was a Live Oak — never took the time to know anything more about the tree than what it could do for me: offer shade for my window, a frame for the view of bridges towering over the highway, a perch for our beloved campus fox.

I wonder how many other times we fail to notice the wholeness of a thing or person, instead only seeing its, or his or her, function in our lives. After I noticed the Live Oak, seeing its whole identity for the first time, I then noticed the manzanita (I think) trees next to it, and the yellow esperanza flowers blooming across the parking lot, and the Crepe Murtle trees now blooming.

Perhaps noticing is like that.

Sins and virtues: Xian, Buddhist, UU

Rev. Bret — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:29:49 +0000

I’m working on an illustration for Sunday’s service on the Seven Deadly UU sins. My thesis is that acknowledging sin as a violation of human relationships allows us to better overcome the desires and drives, posited in us by evolution for survival, that cause harm to each other. I’ve developed a little chart comparing the Seven Deadly Sins, the Seven Principles, and the Eight-fold path. They don’t line up exactly, but they do illustrate that all three traditions value similar virtues and vices, and that they tend individually to resonate with one another. That is, for example, an abundance of pride may lead us to deny another’s free and responsible search for truth and meaning—so right intention is key in our own search and in how we monitor our prideful tendencies.

It’s a start, and I’d love to hear how others might see these resonances. (I was able to arrange them in various other configurations, but they seemed to “vibrate” when I put them like this.)

I ask that this image not be reproduced or copied elsewhere until I come to some deeper conclusions myself! Please ask before duplicating. Thanks.

Why I Take Good Care of My Macintosh, by Gary Snyder

Rev. Bret — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:23:20 +0000

My dear friend Rev. Elizabeth in Chicago read my last post and sent in this poem. I pondered how it might fit in with this Sunday’s sermon topic, “The Seven Deadly UU Sins,” but the only hook I could come up was a blatant diatribe against Microsoft for taking over the world — and I can’t get political from the pulpit, you know…

Thanks, also, to reader Bill who suggested running a virtual desktop product. Hmmmm. Have to find that old XP disc.

And to reader Mark, who tempts me back to the ways of the Luddite, I appreciate the sentiments but there seems to be no way there from here.

Why I Take Good Care of My Macintosh
by Gary Snyder

Because it broods under its hood like a perched falcon,
Because it jumps like a skittish horse
–and sometimes throws me
Because it is poky when cold
Because plastic is a sad, strong material
–that is charming to rodents
Because it is flighty
Because my mind flies into it through my fingers
Because it leaps forward and backward,
–is an endless sniffer and searcher,
Because its keys click like hail on a boulder
and it winks when it goes out,

And puts word-heaps in hoards for me,
dozens of pockets of
gold under boulders in streambeds, identical seedpods
strong on a vine, or it stores bins of bolts;
And I lose them and find them,
Because whole worlds of writing can be boldly layed out
and then highlighted —and vanish in a flash
at “delete” –so it teaches of impermanence and pain;
And because me and my computer are both brief
in this world, foolish, and we have earthly fates,
Because I have let it move in with me
right inside the tent
and it goes out with me every morning
We fill up our baskets, get back home
Feel rich, —relax, I throw it a scrap and it hums.

–

If I have violated some copyright law by posting this, help me atone by buying another book of Snyder’s poems. May my sin at least benefit the poet and all living beings.

For sale, iMac G3, graphite edition…

Rev. Bret — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 03:28:46 +0000

I think I’m soon to admit defeat in my stand for truth, justice, and the Steve Jobs way. Our new fancy office phones which run over the Internet and tie into the computer system? Windows only. They let me do all sorts of fun things — like bounce voice mail to e-mail, emergency calls to cell phone (without giving out the cell phone number), and a dozen other amazing feats. But only over Windows. And our church A/V system that runs projections over the wireless network from the back of the sanctuary? Windows. And our office database with all our membership info? Windows. And our spiffy new color laser printer? (Which, I think, is the only Canon laser printer that doesn’t support Mac.)

Windows.

If I were a conspiracy theorist I might conjure up some explanation, or if a theist, some plot against me for past sins. I’m sure it’s just coincidence. But???

At least the universe is not without a sense of generosity, or sense of humor. Just three months ago the church purchased an inexpensive laptop to run the five-unit air conditioning system, which has no thermostat but instead a computer interface (in a word, overdesigned…), but with the new aforementioned spiffy new phone system, now we don’t need it. So my desk is now blessed with the use of a newish Dell laptop running Vista Home edition.

I hear the laughing all the way from Plano, Los Alamos, Milwaukee, Geneva, San Luis, St. Louis …

Forgiveness

Rev. Bret — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:43:51 +0000

This past week has been a difficult one for people of liberal religion. We held many vigils around the country, and our local communities of faith stood in solidarity beside us.

Now we ask, “When it is too soon to forgive?” As we begin this church year and look to the year ahead, “a year to remember” as my original sermon title suggested, what will we remember? — for this year will never be forgotten having begun with such heartache. I hope we remember it as the year we were able to forgive an unspeakable act of violence, a world gone mad with intolerance, even ourselves for the seeds of anger we posses. May this year be remembered because we forgave and found the courage to build again.

Listen to the entire sermon by following this link.

Reflection on the week’s events

Rev. Bret — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:47:36 +0000

“Hate came to church, and it brought a shotgun.”

These are the words that the Rev. Jon Dobrer said to his Fullerton, California congregation following the shootings at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville on Sunday. “Hate came to church, and it brought a shotgun.” There are some phrases that can bear little improvement.

It is not the first time hate has visited a church, or a synagogue, or mosque or temple—for where love gathers is the place where fear would enter given the chance. Were we singled out because of our liberal beliefs? our belief that affirms and promotes the inherent worth and dignity of every individual regardless of race, creed, ethnicity, or sexual orientation? our belief that affirms and promotes the sanctity of the individual search for truth and meaning in the world? our belief that we do not need to believe alike to love alike? Perhaps we were singled out because of these things, but others have been singled out and attacked for their religious beliefs and choices. Attacked for their views on abortion, or the environment, or the right to a homeland. The only difference this week is that hate has hit closer to home. It is now our moment to face fear and choose love, to face hatred and choose courage, to face bigotry and choose forgiveness.

Religion that affirms everybody’s basic, intrinsic, inherent worth is threatening for many. In a secular society where the threat of being lulled into complacency is ever-present, attending a temple or church is an act of defiance that says “I choose to live for more than myself. I choose to acknowledge that there is more to this human existence than I might experience alone as an individual. I choose to engage with a faith community that challenges the best parts of myself and defies small-minded bigotry. Many question the value of religion religion that encourages the kind of spiritual depth that is difficult, perhaps impossible, to foster in isolation. Even our prophet of rugged individualism, Ralph Waldo Emerson, had his transcendentalist club and large circle of fellow “individualist” friends, and he was really talking about our individual experience of Ultimacy, of God, not isolation. How many of us really flourish spiritually when left by ourselves?

Sunday’s shooter at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church chose to embrace the evil that does lurk in the human heart, along with goodness—and our religion calls us to affirm his inherent worth. It may be difficult for us to forgive at this point. In this coming days we will work toward that noble end. But even in our grief today we can acknowledge that Jim Adkisson, the man who emptied his 12-gauge shotgun into the heart of that Knoxville church, even in our grief today we can acknowledge that he was a hurt and hurting soul. His actions calls us to look at the evil that festers when our better angels are not fostered. How many today languish in the same sense of hopelessness?

That, perhaps, is the greatest fear that lingers after a tragedy like Sunday’s: that Jim Adkisson is not unique in his hurt and fear. That many out there would wish to do us, we who would stand for justice so rigorously, a harm that challenges our most hopeful ideals with despair.

What do we do when fear knocks at the door? What do we do when our love for life and even our being here together in this sanctuary are challenged? What do we do when this sanctuary no longer feels like a sanctuary, but a target?

There is one thing I know: We will not go home. If we cannot forgive, we will teach ourselves to forgive. If we cannot coax ourselves from fear, we will teach ourselves to love again. If we cannot see the light through the news, we will teach ourselves to live again as if it were there, flooding the darkness with hope. As the poet often has answers that our intellect cannot find: Ellen Bass writes these words in her poem “the Thing Is,”

To love life, to love it even
when you have no stomach for it
and everything you’ve held dear
crumbles like burnt paper in your hands,
your throat filled with the silt of it.
When grief sits with you, its tropical heat
thickening the air, heavy as water
more fit for gills than lungs;
when grief weighs you like your own flesh
only more of it, an obesity of grief
you think, how can a body withstand this?
Then you hold life like a face
between your palms, a plain face,
no charming smile, no violet eyes,
and you say, yes, I will take you
I will love you, again.

On this day life seems a bit more tender. Our hearts wish they could do more to help the families of those who have died, the family of Greg McKenry and Linda Kraeger. We wait with the families of the injured : Joe, Jack and Betty Barnhart; Linda Chavez; John Worth Jr.; Tammy Sommers; and Allison Lee, many of these families still wait anxiously to know the long-term outcomes of their loved-ones injuries.

This night, this week, we wait with them. We will send our donations to help with their physical stress. We will send our prayers and hopes that their spiritual needs will be met.

Let us also affirm the power that is in this room right now, for there is power when so many of different faiths, beliefs, and backgrounds gather in solidarity. Fear has knocked upon our door. Hate has entered the sanctuary we thought safe. If we thought the world a safe place, that illusion has been shattered. We realize that there are things to fear in the world. And then we will look into each others eyes and find courage. We will share our stories and know that there are people who are decent and kind in the world. We will find each other, again. We will find love, again.

A vigil Wednesday night

Rev. Bret — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:13:01 +0000

Dear friends,

It is with a heavy heart that I share the news that there was a shooting Sunday morning in the sanctuary of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. While the details of this message are shocking, I feel that you should know of this terrible event.

Two members of that congregation have died as a result of this senseless violence, and I ask that we all hold their families in our prayers and thoughts this week. One of the two fallen was an usher on duty who stepped in front of the shotgun to protect other members of the congregation while worship attendees wrestled the gunman to the ground. The gunman is now in custody charged with first degree murder. His motives are yet unknown. Seven other members sustained injuries during the shooting.

Members of the Unitarian Universalist Trauma Response Ministry are on their way now to Knoxville to help the congregation begin the grieving process. First UU will hold a vigil this Wednesday night to support our fellow Unitarian Universalists in prayer and reflection, with a collection to be taken in support of the trauma response team and perhaps other needs as they arise in the coming week. The Knoxville church, when asked what can be done to help, has asked for our prayers.

You are invited to gather this Wednesday at 7pm at the San Antonio UU church to bear witness to this tragedy.

Thanks for the tech help!

Rev. Bret — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:25:10 +0000

Thanks to everyone (especially Philocrites, who provided the final magic clue) for advice on how to fix my blog feed. In a nutshell, my script was defaulting to Atom .03, which WordPress doesn’t support. I took that line of code out of the script: voila! It now defaults to RSS 2.0.

You know, sometimes this is stuff I wish I didn’t know about. :-)

Can anyone help: RSS tech advice?

Rev. Bret — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:43:06 +0000

This is a request for technical advice for anyone who understand RSS feeds. As you will notice if you click on the icon in the address bar to “view” the RSS feed, it generates an error. I’ve been trying to fix this since April. Grrr.

My podcast feed (http://lortie.net/?feed=podcast) now works fine thanks to a little post-vacation tinkering, but I can’t find anything to help the main feed, without which this blog is unreadable to anyone using a blog reader.

If you have any thoughts, dear blogosphere readers, they will be appreciated. And yes, this is a first step into getting back to more regular posts!

P.S. It does the same thing on my other WordPress blog, http://www.liberal-religion.org.

Until summer’s end

Rev. Bret — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:53:54 +0000

Dear Bytes of Grass readers,

You’ve probably noticed that things are getting out of date here. I’ve had a number of technical difficulties the past two months, from being hacked to podcasting mysteries. Unfortunately I will be out of the state from this Sunday until the beginning of August — so look forward to a grand reopening around that time.

As Dr. McCoy might have said, were he in my shoes: “I’m a pastor not a tech, Jim.”

Until then,

Bret

Question Box sermon

Rev. Bret — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:32:08 +0000

I’ve been asked the topic for this week’s sermon titled “A Question Box.” There isn’t one, yet! In what I hope to do annually, I’ll be letting you set the questions to be explored during the service by having you write them down before the sermon. Then, I and our guest minister for the morning, the Rev. Jennifer Innis, will field them extemporaneously. If Sunday’s service were the “Car Talk” show on NPR, the sermon might more irreverently be called “Stump the Chimps” — but we needn’t go that far. It will be fun.

If you’d like to submit your question before Sunday, you may post it here as a comment. We may not have time to get to all of the questions, but who knows… if skipped on Sunday it may become an entire sermon next year!

Reverend X

Rev. Bret — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 12:00:55 +0000

This is a sermon on Reverend X, the book I co-edited with Rev. Tamara Lebak and released at General Assembly this year, published by Jenkin Lloyd Jones press.

Ultimacy and Intimacy

Rev. Bret — Fri, 30 May 2008 18:47:57 +0000

Why do we come to church? Why do we bother getting up on a Sunday morning? There are many temptations: sleeping in both Saturday AND Sunday; an extra few hours at the park; Starbucks. Why do we bother?

The answer for many of us is our need for ultimacy and intimacy. I’ve spoken of this before, and I will again, for it is central to an understanding of the purpose of liberal religion. Ultimacy is the term Unitarian Universalist James Luther Adams used to describe a desire to be lifted up–beyond the mundane, ordinary, even human dimensions of our lives. Ultimacy is that feeling one may have while walking in the woods and experiencing a sense of awe, sitting in the sanctuary listening to a particular song and feeling a sense of wonder, experiencing transcendence through spiritual practice. There are many paths to ultimacy.

We cannot make sense of ultimacy, however, without intimacy. And we cannot recognize intimacy without ultimacy. It is through connection with others that our lives strike balance between the personal and the universal, the concrete and the felt. In our church life, this is why we encourage new members to find a group to connect with. It is why our services are designed to encourage a sense of ultimacy. With the intimacy that small groups and gatherings provide, and the ultimacy lifted up on Sunday morning, we begin to make sense of the wonder of our lives. We create beloved community that reaches beyond ourselves.

This is why I am curious with the growing number of people who come to campus on Sunday morning but never enter our sanctuary for the service, choosing instead to sit on the patio for coffee and conversation. I suspect that the group is experiencing a sense of intimacy, but I also believe church is about connecting and keeping up with the larger church community–something that we do together on Sunday mornings during service. What can we do to invite all into a deeper relationship with our church family?

Website hacked

Rev. Bret — Mon, 26 May 2008 19:27:11 +0000

Dear friends and subscribers,

I’ve just found out that my Website has been hacked and that a “malware” program uploaded to my site. I’ve corrected the issue and am working with Google to verify that my site is now secure (to remove their general warning to all to stay away from Bytes of Grass). However, until I give the “all clear” I wouldn’t download any podcasts directly from my site, nor will I be uploading the April or May podcasts until the site is fixed. Downloading podcasts directly from iTunes is still safe.

I expect the problem to be resolved and the site updated by the first week of June.

Great photo

Rev. Bret — Sat, 17 May 2008 15:03:34 +0000

I haven’t posted much in a while (blogging definitely is a low priority compared with all the positive family and church stuff that’s happened this year), but this photo from the L.A. Times, taken as California prepares to reinstate same-sex marriage, was definitely worth posting!

Did you notice the chalice?

National Day of Prayer

Rev. Bret — Thu, 01 May 2008 21:25:28 +0000

On this national day of prayer I offered this prayer during an ecumenical gathering in our church’s neighborhood of Dellview. I was asked specifically to pray for our troops and those waiting for them on the homefront. I’m not sure the organizers knew what they were asking for when they invited a Unitarian, but I did tone it down, just a bit, to reach those who gathered in faith on this day of hope for a better world.

Source of Being
that flows through us
and through our world,
Infinite mystery and ultimate power:

Teach us on this day
how to honor our veterans of war,
our soldiers in combat,
their families back home.

Teach us to honor them
with reverence for the sacrifices they make for freedom
and for this country that was founded on the ideal of justice for all.

Teach us to honor them
to heal the communal wounds created by our nation’s war mongering
to heal and protect the soldiers who willingly do whatever they must
to follow the orders given them
to heal and reconcile the lives of the civilians in harm’s way,
both at home and in the countries we occupy.

War is never holy, yet the holy are called to do war’s bidding.
God of all people, protect those who serve.

To the Source of All Being
we lift up our most tender fears as well,
that the world of nations is crumbling,
that our leaders are, as we are, human, and fallible,
that in times like these there are no easy answers to the question of “why”
or when will it end.

And so may we be still this hour,
May we wait for the day when we might truly honor our soldiers:
To bring them home instead of send them away.
To reunite instead of tear asunder.
To heal and to make vows of peace
with holy commitment.

Be still this hour,
Together we wait.

In the name of All Creation we pray.

Blessed be, and Amen.

Belonging

Rev. Bret — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:26:13 +0000

The pull to belong and connect is as primal a need as eating, for when we gather and are recognized we have a better chance at feeling safe and affirmed. Belonging also takes commitment, and in the context of beloved community it means joining in to the best of your ability to share your gifts. Church isn’t about consuming a product on Sunday morning, or only showing up when they’re “singing your song”; it’s about being in relationship with others on a journey that encompasses all of human experience. Church is not a commodity, it’s a commonality. Click here to listen.

Justice Sunday, 2008: The Cost of Iraq

Rev. Bret — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:02:53 +0000

“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.

In the year of the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination, his words continue to ring true. We honor his legacy by working to restore justice for the people of the United States of America, and for the people of Iraq. Our service on April 13 was part of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee’s “Justice Sunday 2008.” In concert with hundreds of other UU congregations around the country, we lifted up how the war in Iraq has drained this nation’s resources, creating a humanitarian crisis in Iraq, and leaving a multitude needs at home unmet — including the disgraceful lack of resources and commitment to rebuild the Gulf Coast. Click here to listen.

Easter, a story we cannot ignore

Rev. Bret — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 19:10:57 +0000

The story of Easter is not only about creation, but of resurrection, of emergence from darkness into light, of finding a way out of the confusion. The Christian story teaches us that we must venture out of the tombs of … Continue reading →

Morality and covenant

Rev. Bret — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 23:39:57 +0000

This month many of our small group ministry “Covenant Groups” will be discussing “covenant.” Unitarian Universalism, which is neither creedal nor ecclesiastic, is described as a “covenanted” faith; that is, the bonds that hold us together are not imposed on us by an outside or hierarchical structure, but are entered into freely and through our own discernment.

Morality with or without God

Rev. Bret — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 23:35:39 +0000

Orthodox religious traditions put God at the center of piety and morality. The moral impulse of liberal religion puts at its center a belief in human goodness. We believe that the “angels of our better nature” can confront and defeat evil in the world. Ours is a morality that requires action and community, not faith in the supernatural. Decoupling morality from personal belief can be tricky business, but worth our attention and toil.

Morality and politics

Rev. Bret — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:32:23 +0000

For his book Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think, George Lakoff applied cognitive science to politics and discovered that the world views of liberals and conservatives are radically different (no surprise there) and that conceptions of morality on both the right and left were remarkably consistent. For progress, we need to examine our own “frames of reference” to find common ground on which to work for justice.

A just and moral people

Rev. Bret — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:10:43 +0000

Concepts of faith and morality are challenging ones for Unitarian Universalists. It’s not only that most of us come from other denominations where divinity, holiness, and morality were defined for us, but also that as our own faith deepens, we may find it difficult to understand other points of view. That is, as we learn to apply reason in our own free and responsible searches for truth, what we discover makes sense in our individual lives. We pass our experience through the fire of reason and come to some conclusions about how the universe operates. We find doorways opening for us as our understanding deepens and our lives go better. Related to this, sometimes, is a disbelief in how others can believe differently. After all, what we’ve found works so well! Most religious dogmas, I suspect, originated from a generosity to share personal enlightenment with others and then it went awry as personal experience became institutionalized. It’s a natural function of human nature to want to help others and share what we’ve found. For us, we want to bring others into the light that reason and experience ignites for us.

Morality is perhaps the stickiest of wickets, and this month we’ll explore morality in a series of services. We’ll explore politics, divinity, and covenant as it relates to human behavior, relatedness, and growth and in the process I hope to illustrate how human progress, ongoing creation, and understanding are human responsibilities. It has been said that ultimately we come to church to learn how to be better people, live better lives, and be supported in our search for meaning.

Now that’s a challenge worth accepting! See you in church …

Your personal legend

Rev. Bret — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 22:18:54 +0000

Everybody has a personal legend to live, although as we mature into responsible adults we often forget what they are. Put another way, we forget what we’re here for — even who we are. This year, for new years, let’s … Continue reading →

Our Universalist Origen [sic]

Rev. Bret — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 22:08:03 +0000

I’m catching up on my podcasting this week as I catch my breath during these last few days of study leave. Expect a couple more postings in the next few days!

Origen of Alexandria first proclaimed that universal salvation was the birthright of all humanity. Although the church orthodox went on to lift Origen up as a church father for his systematic theology regarding the trinity, in the sixth century they declared his universalism anathema. This sermon explores some of our earliest Christian roots.

Sermon by Sam Emerson

Rev. Bret — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 12:30:26 +0000

Sam Emerson, a member of First Unitarian Church of San Antonio, died last weekend following complications from a routine surgery. Members of the congregation may remember the sermon Sam delivered in January, and a few have asked if it’s available online. I’m therefore posting Sam’s sermon again. In it he tells the story of his early years and the outlines the sources of his profound sense of gratitude. As I listened to his words again today, I am overwhelmed by his sense of humor, belief in the power of joy, and his love for life.

I will miss Sam. His immense heart and the way he embraced the whole of his experience have inspired me since I first met him last year. We are better people for having known this gentle soul with the intellect and inner strength of a titan.

Advent for Buddha

Rev. Bret — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:17:43 +0000

Last week marked two holidays: the beginning of Advent, when Christians await the coming of Christmas; and Bodhi Day, the day when the historical Buddha gained enlightenment. Both celebrations lift up the power of waiting, and what bigger challenge might we find in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season: the gift of quiet waiting. For what? We often do not know. The shepherds did not know who (or what) they waited for. The Buddha did not know what (or who) he waited for. But we wait, knowing that the light will come.

Gratitude and hospitality

Rev. Bret — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 21:35:02 +0000

Gratitude leads to hospitality, and hospitality engenders gratitude. Both of these spiritual practices reflects the other in a circle that begins and ends in thriving communities of faith. Although not originally planned as a two-part sermon series, it turned out … Continue reading →

A few photos of U Bar U

Rev. Bret — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 04:52:04 +0000

As promised, a few photos of our two-day retreat at U Bar U, the UU retreat center in the Texas hill country. The pink building you see here is of straw bale construction. We’re definitely taking notes (of the construction, not color…).

We are here

Rev. Bret — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 04:39:11 +0000

We’re spending tonight and tomorrow night in the Hill Country at U Bar U (formerly Quakerland, until a bunch of UU churches bought it from the Friends) for my sabbath. Since moving to San Antonio we haven’t gotten out to see the country, and I’m looking forward to walking through the live oak and brush tomorrow. As you can see from the satellite image, there isn’t much around! Pictures to come. I’m told there’s an airstrip next to the 143-acre property. Hope they have a burger stand.

Just driving up, the terrain reminds me of the inland California chaparral region where I lived as a child: Lots of oaks and sturdy grasses, granite outcroppings and gentle hills. As I said, there will be pictures.

Pulling Wallpaper

Rev. Bret — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 20:44:54 +0000

As Unitarian Universalists we sometimes struggle with how to honor or veterans and our deep commitment to sowing seeds of peace in the world. We need to critique our national policies when they conflict with our personal and shared values, and we must stop short in our critique at the point where we allow ourselves to judge another’s motives and personal life journey when they choose to join the military. Our soldiers are courageous people willing to put aside personal ego and to follow orders they may not agree with, and for their commitment to the ideal of preserving freedom in our world they deserve our respect. The paradox of military might is the need for a country to have visible power to back its independence — and the courage not to use that power for reckless ill.

Lessons from the scooter seat

Rev. Bret — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 19:28:05 +0000

I finally broke down and bought a scooter — been wanting one for years and the time seemed right. It’s a 1994 Honda Helix 250. That’s 250cc’s, so it’s actually classified as a motorcycle since it’ll do 85+ mph and is highway legal. However, since it has an automatic transmission and a belt drive, the purist in me won’t call it a motorcycle. It is pretty bad, though.

Some of my close professional friends advised me against getting a scooter. “A minister needs always to project authority and power, even in the vehicle he [sic] drives,” one person told me. Yeah, OK. I get that, and it’s that kind of thinking that’s filling our highways with SUVs and 1600cc motorcycles that suck gas like a mid-size car. The Helix gets 70 mpg, so power and authority aside, it’s helping the earth out.

Granted, I could see folks raising an eyebrow down here in Texas were their minister to drive up on a powder blue vespa, or a little whimpy Chinese plastic thing that sounds like a go-cart on steroids. But as scooters go, this is definitely as tough as they come — and it goes zero to sixty faster than I can think. As my neighbor said, “Boy is that big.”

The “scooter” that’s truly droolworthy is the 750cc Honda Silverwing, but they go for about $10,000 — a little more than I’m willing to pay for anything on two wheels.

Now that I’m back on two wheels, I’m experiencing beginner’s mind, deja vu. I rode for years back in the 90s (an old CB750), and while my mind remembers everything I learned, my body is taking some time to remember how it feels to speed down the road in the open air, to scan for traffic that can’t see you, to be one with the bike.

Here are some lessons I’ve learned over the years from riding:
(apply to life as applicable)

Always keep some power in reserve
You can go 100 mph, but you don’t need to go 100 mph

Look ahead, not behind
What’s behind you won’t kill you

Never outrun your headlights
They’re there for a reason

Summer’s End

Rev. Bret — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 01:07:36 +0000

Many of the world’s traditions celebrate this time of year when the veil between life and death, light and dark, is the thinnest. Samhaim, El Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead), All Souls, Halloween, and other holidays ask … Continue reading →