Category Archives: Twinkle’s Musings

Vacation Time!

For our family, as we still having one school age child, Summertime is an especially special time of the year.  We have more freedom during this season than any other to plan vacations and take spur-of-the-moment adventures and spend time together   as a family, and with friends, mostly unhindered by the demands of other things. We know we are fortunate for this. It is a blessing we are grateful for every day. Our wish is that every family can experience this kind of freedom, and, when they do, to choose to take the time to deepen the bonds of love with those who matter most to them.

May we remember that we belong to each other.

And use our time in ways that show we do.

Amen.

A Time for Everything

With eternity in our hearts

everything is made beautiful in its time.

a time to heal;

a time to build;

a time to laugh;

a time to dance;

a time to gather;

a time to embrace;

a time to mend;

a time for peace;

a time to love.

Scattered stones need weep no more, for the seeds planted and watered with tears of mourning give way to the seasons of happiness and the heavens rejoice as it is time.

Inspired by Peter Gabriel’s “The Book of Love” and Ecclesiastes 3 (NIV) and this moment in Time.

The VUU Episode #214 – Featuring a UU Earth-Centered interview with Catharine Buck Clarenbach

I deeply appreciate The VUU taking time to begin a conversation about Earth-Centered UUism. I would love to see more of these types of conversations as there are many aspects of our Sixth Source manifesting in the hearts, minds and lives of Unitarian Universalists all over the world!

A great reminder that we have SIX Sources. The sixth is not merely an add on, rather, it is meant to be an integral part of our Living Tradition. I believe each source is meant to be active and accessible… and accepted. Yet, the whole of our sources are often left out of (or showing up more than moderately-diluted in) our “religious” services in exchange for the secularization that affirms our justice and social action principals with the reciting of profound logical quotes, psycho-political analysis, and calls to action for public witness on behalf of the most popular claimed causes.

I wonder what our Faith would look like if we went to Church on Sunday mornings (or Wednesday afternoons, or Friday evenings – – or each of these times every week) to be transformed? I wonder how many of our children would remain active members in our Faith Tradition if they were included in our now mostly adult services, rather than segregating them and hosting only a few intergenerational gatherings each year? I wonder if those among us who are taking up the mantles to be active in social justice activities would have more strength to do so if fortified by spiritually-centered community practices?

I suspect we would be stronger and more united in The Beloved Community if our worship services were rooted in the kinds of rituals, liturgy and ceremony found within the sources we are called to draw our faith from. There is so much benefit to be derived by incorporating authentic ritual into our services as well as including our children in the practice of worship. I believe there to also be benefit in having group-identified places of gathering, sharing and nurturing such as found within the sacredness of affinity and covent groups, as well as youth camps, etc. Yet to completely segregate our children from the core religious services seems at odds with our motto of “inclusion.” And in opposition to expressed desires for our children to claim this Faith as their own when they advance into maturity.  If we want to pass the torch of the Unitarian Universalist Faith Tradition to the next generations, we need to include them in the Unitarian Universalist Faith Tradition.

I also am grateful that Catharine named the Women’s movement as pivotal to bringing our Sixth Source to life in our Living Tradition.UU Women and Religion (UUWR) is still active and accessible, dedicated to lifting up Women’s spirituality in our faith, preserving archives, creating curriculum and programs that honor our lived experiences of the divine.

I encourage you to join Catharine’s The Way of the River Facebook group – – and be prepared for how special Mondays are as group members are prompted to share “Beloved Selfies”: a beautiful way to witness and honor each other where ever we are in the world and on our journeys.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheWayoftheRiver/

And be sure to open the above video up in YouTube so you can access all the other links, such as CUUPs.

Build the Beloved Community with Media Outreach

Rev. “Twinkle” Marie Manning, founder of UU Women’s Heart, member of the Unitarian Universalist Society for Community Ministries and UUWomen and Religion leadership team, speaks about the importance of multi-media outreach.

This video was inspired by All Souls Tulsa’s video featuring a member that lives in the UK, found here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQVVIWSmXHw&feature=share

 

TEXT FOR TWINKLE’s VIDEO:

I LOVE THIS! Stories like this are why I use many forms of media and outreach to live into my call.

It is why we created projects like UU Talks and virtual Minerva Potlucks.

It is why so many entrepreneurial ministries are using innovative outreach and service platforms. It is why when I do consulting for groups and congregations, encouraging all to incorporate a media component, at least audio and digital-text copies of sermons and services online, but whenever possible integrate video into their ministries. (my background is television so I aim for the highest quality production possible, but seriously – – if you have an iPhone and a gmail account or Facebook account, you have all the technology you need to expand the reach of your ministry – – it may not be the highest quality, but it is a viable option) People are looking for us. Let’s help them find the kind of salvation we have to offer. Help them find a safe and fulfilling place to call their spiritual home. #UUTalks #UULife #UUWomensHeart#StandingOnTheSideOfLove  #UUWR

Happy Thanksgiving

As we enter this time of Thanksgiving, may we remember:

When we live Life as a prayer, our actions uphold and support the belief in, and realization of, the inherent worth and dignity of every person even if, and especially when, every person does not do the same for us.

Let our gatherings with family, and in community, be filled with peace and love and thankfulness for the blessings we have. May we always and all ways be blessings to each other. Amen.

checkbook theology 101

“A checkbook is a theological document; it will tell you who and what you worship.”

The quote is by Rev. Billy Graham and it was shared today by the I Am UU project.  And I am sharing it here because it is the Truth! 

It reminds me of David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech “This is Water” where he speaks about a similar thing when he said, “There is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And an outstanding reason for choosing some sort of God or spiritual-type thing to worship —be it Jesus Christ or Allah, Yahweh, Jehovah, the Wiccan mother-goddess or the Four Noble Truths, or some infrangible/inviolable set of ethical principles—is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive.”                  

Pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. 

A couple years ago I preached about this in my sermon “In Our Own Image.” 

The basic message of the service was that we all worship something.  And what we choose to worship can help us make sense out of life, even when life seems senseless.  What we choose to worship can comfort us, bring us joy, and have us greeting each morning in gratitude.  Or, what we choose to worship can perpetuate our suffering. We get to choose to whom we belong, which ‘god’ we will serve. The first step toward doing so is to understand the distinctions of conscious and unconscious worshipping. And, to circle back to the original post: our checkbooks provide a consistent record for us to refer to when in doubt.

And, this month, as we are deep in the spirit of gratitude, please consider supporting Thomas A Earthman’s I Am UU Faithify campaign. In doing so you will be supporting the continued creation of meaningful messages that promote our UU values and principles.