The Hardy Boys

One of the great pleasures of being a member of First Church is getting to know Dick Bozian and Pete Rizzo. Dick and Pete embody the passion and commitment of our church. And they lived up to their reputation while at GA by attending every session they could absorbing all that GA had to offer. This picture was taken around 10:30 Saturday night after the Service of the Living Tradition and they both were still going strong. That's why I think of them as the "Hardy Boys".

Usher Extraordinaire

Not only did Jody Johnson and his family attend GA, but he volunteered to help during Plenary and Worship.  Way to go Jody!

Distinguished Couple

Outside of Plenary Hall. Looks like Adam is ready for another day of library research!! 

Thurs with Wendell Berry

This is what a  UU Witness looks like. 2000 UUers on the Louisville waterfront as we are asked to consider our own complicity in the destruction of our region's environment. 

It Was the Worst of Times

I picked my son up from camp today and he told me that his stomach hurts.  That is odd for him and so I asked why.  He told me that as part of camp they went to visit the trash room at the convention center to look at all the debris and thank the workers.  He said to me "And we had to go to the library and research mountain top removal.  I am eleven and this is summer."   I could make a comedy routine out of this and other UU misfires.

Sometimes we UU's worry so much about being good or right (think our Puritan heritage) that we forget about the human (or even child) experience.  Not everyone wants to look at piles of trash.  I don't.   And even as I write I feel compassion for his teacher who is spending her week trying, I am sure, to create something meaningful for all these children.  Most of us are just doing the best we can.

I was speaking with a colleague today who said to me that we UU's lack a "theology of paradox."  We want to run towards "right" or "wrong" without reflecting, listening, pausing, and even oddly, living with difference.  I like good boundaries and we need rules, but I lean into paradox because it is what I see all around me.  I contributed to the carbon offset fund prior to my arrival here, and then I drove my car, spewing fossil fuel remains, all the way to Louisville.

In Love and Faith
Sharon

It Was the Best of Times,

Look at these smiling First Churchers!  They are the best of GA.  There is Barb Rider and Pete Rizzo outside of the Plenary Hall.  Below we have Dan Schneider, Morita Marmo, Carol Lloyd, Barb and Ed Rider (and you can't see Linda Miltner, Linnea Lose, or Lois Gish) at Plenary this morning.  Plenary is where we do the business of the association - reports, elections, introductions.   There is ALOT of plenary this year because we missed so much in Phoenix last year doing public witness.  

Much ADough About Nothing

There were some confused looks among us during Wednesday's usher orientation.  We had just been given the procedure for assisting with communion slated to happen during Thursday morning's worship service.

The scene painted in our minds was one of baskets of bread weaving in and out of rows; some vegetarian, some vegan, and some gluten free.  It was our order to maintain order among this disjointed serpentine assembly line of bread choices. 

While attempting to play out in my mind how this was going to work, I quickly realized it simply want going to.  Someone remarked, "...we've never done this before."  I don't think anyone really needed to state the obvious.

As it turned out, Thursday morning's worship service was so lightly attended that we could have nearly given personal communion.  I had one person in my section and he contained his laughter behind a smirk when I asked if he would like some bread. 

However, there were other sections with more people in them and I am sure there were more people to take communion than I realize.  I am sure those people were appreciative of our attempt to do what "we have never done."  This made it worthwhile. 

I became a UU so I could comfortably believe and worship the way I wish.  I sometimes forget that others did too.  I sometimes forget that other UU churches work differently than mine. 

But, I do wonder what happened to all that extra bread.

Spoken Words

According to the always reliable internet, Christopher D. Sims is the poet laureate of Rockford, IL. He was one of the headliners in a workshop ("Spoken Word, Spoken Prophecy") that amounted to an open mike poetry slam this afternoon. Performances by lovers, losers, grievers, celebrants, desperates, mothers, students and an old guy who may have been the ghost of Wild Bill Hickock. Some were wonderful and some were not, and that was ok. Mr. Sims, aka UniverSouLove, aka Word Warrior led the way. You can hear him do WW and other works here:
https://soundcloud.com/#universoulove
According to the organizers, this was the first time that a poetry slam was on the program at GA. Spoken words are so central to our ritual. I hope it's not the last time.

Thursday PM Reflection

Just got on to the blog. It is hard to find a wireless spot to get on the internet here. The UU Cyber Cafe is always packed and the Convention Center doesn't provide Wifi. Recommendation to future GAs: Demand Convention Center Wifi hotspots for attendees.

Great posts from Sharon, Jody, and Linda. I can just visualize Adam visiting a toxic waste dump and taking notes with a bunch of other UU kids diligently taking notes. It is so nice seeing so many First Uers her at GA. This setting provides the opportunity for conversations with our own members that we probably would never have back home. Just delightful.

Maybe some of you remember the great First U Worship Service we had in April of 2011 with Frank X Walker. Well, on the opening night of GA the UUA got a taste of Frank's poetry as he was a guest of honor and opened the first service with 3 poems. Frank is now the Poet Laureate of Kentucky, the first African American writer/poet to receive such an honor. He is now in the same league with Wendell Berry. It was a fitting tribute to his talent that the UUA invited him to open this GA and definitely a great gift to the UUA that we all got to hear him again. He read three of his signature poems about Kentucky, "this once dark and bloody ground whose cash crop causes cancer and whose run for the roses is only two minutes long." He compared strip mining and mountain top removal to a cancer that ravages the human body and then ended with the question of how anyone could truly believe that an old White Kentucky Colonel could actually know how to fry chicken "without lookin' over some black woman's shoulder." "At least he could've given her credit for ringin' a neck." With a sharp analytic wit like that to start our GA, it can't help but be a good event.

I am very impressed with the GA Planning Team's serious effort to honor the traditions and concerns of the people who are hosting us. Today was no exception with many workshops on Appalachian culture and political/religious heritage. And to top it off we were blessed to have Wendell Berry in our midst as he and Tim DeChristopher (the UUer imprisoned for falsely bidding on oil and gas rights on National Park land so it wouldn't be destroyed) highlighted tonight's Worship Service. They also led us to an Action of Witness on the Ohio river to raise our consciousness about the devastation of West Virginia, Kentucky, and the Ohio River Valley because of our insatiable demand for energy. The urgency of their appeals to stop the insanity is quite compelling and something with which we as UUers will need to grapple as we seek to live up to our 7 principles.

This is my 4th GA in a row and I am continually challenged to live up to my beliefs. There is so much more to say, but I'm afraid to type anymore for fear the upload will take forever. This internet connection is iffy at best.

Thursday at GA

After a great day of workshops, we heard terrific presentations by Wendell Berry and Tim DeChristopher (the infamous "Bidder 70). They talked about the horrible effects of the use of fossil fuels, especially coal and oil and gas drilling, mountaintop removal, and hydraulic fracturing.  We then marched to the river to hear testimonies and sing. This "witness" event was one we partnered with Kentucky Interfaith Power and Light, this year's GA service project and Sunday collection recipient.

A Banner Day

When speaking to others about my church and my beliefs, most tell me they have never heard of Unitarians or Universalists. 

One of the things I have found refreshing about GA is being immersed in UU.  Seeing all the congregational banners together brings a unique sense of community.

There's also the fact that we have one of the coolest banners in the hall.  Just sayin'.

The Calm Before the Storm

I am looking forward to my first GA Opening Ceremony in just a few moments.  Getting a little bit of a sneak peak due to volunteering as an usher.

Let the banners fly!

Ministry Days End

Hello!

Ministry Days ends this afternoon with the historic Berry Street Lecture, which has been going on for over 100 years (Frank could tell you when it started) and is a highlight of this event.  A colleague speaks for 45 minutes on a topic of their choosing and these lectures are AMAZING.  There is then a response by another colleague (prepared in advance).

This morning our 25 years speaker (a minister in the ministry for 25 years) preached on what is transient, changing in ministry since he was ordained in 1988.  He talked about how people don't want monthly committee meetings, don't read the newsletter, and want to connect with programming beyond Sunday morning.  Very provocative!  Our fifty year speaker (minister ordained in 1963) preached on the beginnings of his ministry in Selma and included trips to Montgomery, Alabama and the Black Empowerment Controversy within the UUA.  Wow!  He read a Chinese poem at the end about colleagues no longer with us ("carts vanishing in the mist") and we all teared up.  He cried too.

As you know by now, I like my chow.  Two recommendations for those that come.  First, try Hillbilly    Tea (KY cooking that is fresh, sometimes gluten free and vegan friendly).  Then, when you want to crash land into sweet heaven go to Pie Kitchen.  Homemade ice cream and anything with carmel icing are my favorites.

See you in KY
Sharon

Ministry Days Begins

Hello!

Thanks for setting this up!  When I go to GA, I first attend Ministry Days that begins 48 hours before GA.  We clergy gather to listen to a speaker (this year Rev. Lillian Daniel), do the business of our Minister's Association (yes, that means another annual meeting for me), reconnect with colleagues, and attend workshops.  This year I have brought a special guest with me, my son.  He will be in a UU summer camp learning about the environment.  I will confess to laughing when I received a request from the camp provider asking if my son had my permission to visit a toxic waste site in Louisville.  Only a UU camp would send my son to a toxic waste site.

Thus far I have some Louisville recommendations.  First, the chow.  I like to eat and this evening tried a Persian restaurant named Saffron.  Pretty good.  Next, I visited the Muhammad Ali Center.  Very interesting.  Was Muhammad Ali a civil rights leader, sexist, provocateur, boxer, "the Greatest," or something else.  I think he was at different times all of these things.  What most impresses me about him is his relentless drive.  What makes a person so resilient?  He is without a doubt a devout Muslim from the Nation of Islam.  What I like about him is that he said he said he was "pretty" and that "black" was bold and beautiful when black people were openly and regularly told to sit down and shut up, and that they were ugly.  I do like that he defied other people's ideas of who he was or could be.  I was also interested that it was a white police office that convinced him to start boxing at the age of 12.  Human connections can trump racism, if only we let ourselves choose to come closer in love.

In Love and Faith,
Sharon

Hello:

This blog was created to allow members of First Unitarian Church of Cincinnati who are attending the UU General Assembly 2013 to communicate collectively with other members and friends of the Church (who may or may not be attending too). If you use this blog, please communicate with respect for everyone and every idea that you write about.

If anyone has questions, ideas, or complaints, please email me at Rsincla1865@earthlink.net.
Thanks! Ray Sinclair, Communications Committee, 513.600.7519