The Anniversary of War

March 19 marked the third year anniversary of the war in Iraq. On such a date, many people have many different feelings regarding our nation's actions surrounding this war and 9/11. On the UUA website (March 16), the UUA president, Rev. William G. Sinkford, wrote a letter to fellow UUs.
In his letter, Rev. Sinkford explains the dire need for a public dialogue and assessment of US actions regarding Iraq. According to this page, the UUA, after much contemplation and discussion, has found this war (from the beginning) to be opposed to the fundamental beliefs of Unitarian Universalism. As Rev. Sinkford pointed out, the powers that be have relied upon military might, as opposed to "diplomacy and true international cooperation."
Because, since 9/11, the American people have (for the most part) unquestioningly followed the decisions and actions of the Administration, the time has come for us to seriously consider how we feel about what's going on.
Rev. Sinkford mentions a letter he wrote to Congress regarding the war in Iraq. In this letter he explains how the UUA felt about the decisions being made.
I urge you to support legislation that would require the Administration to create and implement a plan to withdraw US forces from Iraq. I believe that continuing to pursue a military-based strategy that has failed to produce peace—a strategy that has tragic human consequences almost every day—is ethically and religiously bankrupt. The time for a change of course is long overdue.

In the months prior to the US invasion of Iraq, the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations—together with other members of the Win Without War coalition and many other faith groups—called for diplomacy and international cooperation rather than unilateral military action. Much to our disappointment, the Administration proceeded without exhausting diplomatic options and without broad international support.

Most importantly, Rev. Sinkford pointed out (regarding blindly following the Administration) that "We should not stay the course when the course is wrong. We need to have a real conversation about where we go from here."

Unitarian Universalism: The Basics

As mentioned in my last posting, I am redirecting the course of this blog. I'm doing this because, as mentioned, I've undergone some personal changes that have called for this change in direction.
Unitarian Universalists. Who are they? What do they do? What do they believe? These are questions asked by many people, myself included. Over the past five or six years I've had an on and off relationship with Unitarian Universalism. I discovered them rather coincidentally when I was in 11th grade. When I did, I knew that I had found a movement that I could agree with on the issues that were important to me.
But, what were these beliefs that I felt so in tune with? In 1986, the UUA General Assembly adopted the following set of principles and purposes:

* The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
* Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
* Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
* A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
* The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
* The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
* Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

And, in acting on these principles, UU derives inspiration from a variety of sources which are:

* Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
* Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
* Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
* Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
* Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.
* 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.

In the next few posts, I will be exploring aspects of the different principles, how I understand them, how I feel they relate to the world we live in, and some information regarding the history of Unitarian Universalism.

The majority of information which I refer to can be found on the UUA website.

The role of nature and a coming shift

Nature is central to a Pagan belief structure. The respect and acknowledgement of nature is what sets Paganism apart from most of the other world's religions. But, why is nature important?
Nature's importance lies in the fact that--it's where we come from. All life--big, small, man, animal, tree, rock--comes from nature and is of nature. This is a fact that many religions would have you overlook. Christianity turns to the Bible for evidence to support this:
"Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground" (Genesis 1:28 NIV).
The use of this verse has greatly disturbed me from time to time. When did man get the notion in his head that he was somehow better than the rest of creation? By claiming to be better, man has created a false divivsion between himself and the web of life.
The good thing is that, no matter how hard this connection is denied, man will never be ignored by nature. The bad thing is that, if mankind doesn't redress its relationship to nature, nature will strike back to reestablish balance.

Paganism's reverence for nature has affected another faith that is a very important part of my life--Unitarian Universalism. I want to delve more into the Unitarian Universalist tradition in the coming weeks for many reasons: one personal and one general. My general reason is that Unitarian Universalism is a movement that it seems everyone has heard of but almost no one knows what it's about.

My personal reason for wanting to discuss Unitarian Universalism is that, over Spring Break, I've reached a point where I am starting to identify more with UUism. Because of this, I feel the need to refamiliarize myself with its history and roots. In doing so, I hope that I can share insights and knowledge with others so that they can come to understand more about this spiritual movement.