An Update on the UUA / Boy Scouts Agreement and the "God Issue"

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The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), our leadership organization, announced last week on March 24 that it was renewing ties with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). The two organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that restores the relationship after, as the related UU World article put it, "a years-long split over gay scouts and God". The split was 17 years, to be precise, and the reconcilliation was prompted by the changes in BSA policy last summer that removed the ban on gay scouts and adults.

What was conspicuously absent from the press release, the MOU, and the announcement on the UUA website was any mention of the God issue. In order to register as a scout or adult leader, one must sign a document that includes a section starting with, "The Boy Scouts of America maintains that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing an obligation to God", and concluding with, "Only persons willing to subscribe to these precepts of the Declaration of Religious Principle and to the Bylaws and codes of the Boy Scouts of America shall be entitled to certificates of membership." There is a similar requirement for all levels of advancement, including achieving Eagle Scout rank. As soon as the announcement about the MOU was made, the UU Humanist Association sent a message to UUA President Peter Morales, following up on a similar one sent last summer when he had hinted at the reconciliation, reminding him how strongly we feel about the need for the UUA to stand up for our UU principles in this matter.

We continue to call for the UUA to make an unequivocal, clear, public statement that they disagree with the BSA policy and that they will work to change it.

The widespread prejudice the BSA policy leads to is illustrated in a USA Today article by a BSA district executive, Chris Hill, "Even the full acceptance of homosexuality throughout Scouting would not be the bottom of that slippery slope. There is another group that has been howling as loudly as the homosexuals about their exclusion from the Boy Scouts -- the atheists." He goes on to say, "if there is no higher being to provide a standard against, which one's beliefs and conduct are measured, how can the atheists know with any certainty what is 'moral' at all?" UUs, both theists and nontheists, have a clear answer to that: humanistic principles that are shared by good people of many religions and no religion.

UU Humanist Association (UUHA) President John Hooper published Morales' response to our message in the article Hooper wrote for the American Humanist Association's The Humanist magazine. This included the encouraging statement from Morales, "Let me say, as a humanist, I had my own trepidation about a new agreement with the Boy Scouts. However, through many conversations, I was assured that a UU congregation who hosts a scouting unit would be able to teach our values according to our UU theology—including nontheist teachings." While this may be true, the UU Humanists continue to object because a) this does not push back on the religious discrimination, b) this does not help the non-UU scouts and adults who do not believe in God, and c) this does not adequately address the needs of nontheist UUs who cannot, with integrity, express an "obligation to God", and d) because all decision making, including approving membership and boards of review for advancement, involve people from the council and district level, not just the unit level. On this latter point, the national organization has shown its intent1 and willingness to reject nontheists. 

We wish to note that we recognize the sincerity with which the UUA (our UUA) leadership did not see this as condoning discrimination and saw it as a potential way of adding to the liberalizing influences. We recognize that they, besides wanting to show their approval and support for the removal of the ban on gay members, were acknowledging that many UUs value Scouting and would prefer for their UU congregation to sponsor their unit. While social media and the secular blogosphere are ablaze with condemnation that, "the UUA is throwing its humanist members and clergy under the bus again"2, Bob Kincaid has pushed back on this attitude saying, "Rosa Parks didn't get off the bus - she sat in the front." He went on to say,

"I wonder how many of those who are opposed to this very positive policy change have boys of scouting age? I support it 100%. ... Im a UU Humanist / Atheist and I am actively trying to get a local Humanist group going in my congregation. I have three Cub scouts and they LOVE their participation in Scouts. There's nothing else out there like it.3 ... I also get a lot out of it myself, and so does my wife. We have so many friends made through Scouting - I can't imagine not being involved. We have at least 10 more years in front of us. We joined prior to the membership policy excluding gay members & scouts change, and we pledged to work from within for change. And we have. Leadership in both Packs that I have been involved with have been 100% opposed to descriminatory National policies. We don't ask about sexual orientation and we don't ask about Theistic beliefs. It is completely irrelevant and not what the program is about. There SHOULD be a formal UUA / BSA relationship. Hooray!!!"

We, the UU Humanist Association, also note that it is unofficial UUA policy to expect atheist and humanist UUs, like all UUs, to adopt or at least accept the use of an extremely liberalized religious language. Thus, we may be asked to engage in prayer starting with, "Spirit of Life and love, great mystery, God of many names we pray...". We are told, for example in the book God Revised, by UU minister Galen Guengerich, "Gone are the days of the magical, supernatural deity in the sky who visits wrath upon those who have not followed his word. Especially in a scientific age, we need an experience of a God we can believe in-an experience that grounds our morality, unites us in community, and engages us with a world that still holds more mystery than answers." Given this potentially non-supernatural view of God, it makes sense that a religious humanist, like Peter Morales, would have no issue with agreeing to a statement saying, "no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing an obligation to God". While we recognize this as the expectation and the norm in communication from the Association, we continue to remind the UUA of the existence and the rights of the individual UUs and entire congregations whose beliefs do not admit even such "evolved" use of the word God. We know the arguments for being Fluent in Faith, recognize and respect that even many UU Humanists find value in defining God in a non-supernatural way, but we stand by the right of many of us to choose not to do so. The UUA website tells the world about UUs, "Some believe in a God; some don’t believe in a God. Some believe in a sacred force at work in the world, and call it 'love,' 'mystery,' 'source of all' or 'spirit of life.'" All of those people are told, "We welcome you in the fullness of your beliefs." An action like announcing the UUA/BSA MOU without even a mention of this well-known issue calls into doubt the sincerity of that welcome.

We do not seek to break the agreement, nor for the UUA to stop using religious language, but we must have a leadership that stands up against prejudice against us and that does not expect us to pretend that we are something we are not in order to be welcomed. We have asked for an official meeting with our UUA leadership where we will seek their help in resolving this issue. We are confident that the outcome of that meeting will remove the need to seek justice some other way, and we promise to keep everyone informed until it is resolved. We are not angry outsiders, we are the nontheist clergy and members who lovingly value our UUA and its seven principles.

Signed,

The board of directors of the Unitarian Universalist Humanist Association

 

Notes:

  1. The BSA Membership Standards Resolution, released in January 2014, which lifted the ban on gay scouts, includes this clause:

    WHEREAS, the Scout Oath begins with duty to God and the Scout Law ends with a Scout's obligation to be reverent, and that will always remain a core value of the Boy Scouts of America, and the values set forth in the Scout Oath and Law are fundamental to the BSA and central to teaching young people to make better choices over their lifetimes;

    Please note the "always" in this statement.
     
  2. The large outcry from popular bloggers, like PZ Myers and our Ethical Culturist friend (and usual ally) James Croft, make the the second part of UU Humanist Association's mission nearly impossible to accomplish. We wish to be a bridge between the UU and secular worlds, but the justified indignation seriously undermines our message.

  3. Note that we recognize and celebrate the scouting alternatives like Navigators USA, Camp Quest, and the Baden Powell Service Organization. While we applaud their inclusivity, we recognize that they are not widespread enough to serve the needs of all boys. Also note that the Girl Scouts have a model that we endorse:

"Girl Scouts of the USA makes no attempt to define or interpret the word “God” in the Girl Scout Promise. It looks to individual members to establish for themselves the nature of their spiritual beliefs. When making the Girl Scout Promise, individuals may substitute wording appropriate to their own spiritual beliefs for the word “God.”"

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news

Humanists Doing Good

By Daniel Braga-Lawlor 

Sunday Assembly is a negotiated community, a network of secular congregations across the world, primarily in Western Europe, North America, South Africa, and Australia. The dominant, though occasionally debated, ethos in Sunday Assembly is faith-neutral secularism ("Let's celebrate the one life we have! We don't do deity, but we won't tell you you're wrong if you do!"). 

Sunday Assemblies organize a monthly celebration, have no official text, no clergy (we rotate hosts for our Sunday celebrations), and each community has great latitude in selecting its speakers, songs and readings, as well as defining the local service work. The songs we sing are not hymns, but come from across pop music - in Northern California, we've sung "Superstition," by Stevie Wonder, "Lean On Me," by Bill Whithers, "Both Sides Now" by Joni Mitchell, "Time after Time," by Cyndi Lauper, and many others. We operate from the premise that knowledge from across the fields (arts, sciences, economics, ethics) offers insights, and that all people, as believers and non- believers alike, matter.

Initially, Sunday Assemblies received press and were billed as "godless congregations." At the first international gathering of Assemblies, held in May 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia, the accredited assemblies voted to change the language from "godless" to "secular" to more fully embrace the living, breathing diversity of who attends: atheist, agnostic, freethinker, spiritual not religious, and those who identify with a religious tradition but find Sunday Assembly of value. 

Regardless of our labels, volunteer service is a touchstone of Sunday Assembly work. Just as Unitarian Universalist communities gather both for worship and outward engagement, Sunday Assemblies create monthly community celebrations and seek to offer ways to become involved, as a group, in their wider neighborhood and world.  

At our chapter, Sunday Assembly East Bay (the Oakland-Berkeley area in Northern California), our most consistent community work is monthly singing with seniors at a nursing home in Berkeley. For us, the call to recognize this is the one life we know have, encourages active engagement with the people in it. 

This service group started about nine months ago thanks to the imagination of Debra Wong, a teacher in our group, and has turned into a regular practice. At last month's senior sing, 9 people joined us, up from our early days of 3 to 5 people. 

In the nursing facility, we interact with about two dozen people in the twilight of their lives. Yet there still so much life in that room. I have seen people, contorted and with heads hung, begin tapping their fingers and smiling when they hear a song from their youth. I have seen wonder. 

One woman at the facility, Marie, who always has a beautiful knit quilt (orange and black hues) has a special care in her eyes. The first time I met Marie, I asked her what she thought of us, she nodded her head and said, "You're not that good, but I'm glad you came!" 

A few months later, she said, "You're pretty good!" 

Now, after much more practice, she said "It's beautiful!" 

Marie particularly loves when we sing "Proud Mary," either inspired by Clearance Clearwater Revival (Go El Cerrito!) or Tina Turner. 

Primarily, we sing- in a group- karaoke style- oldies- music primarily from the 40s, 50s and 60s - with the occasional songs from the 1930s or 1990s for good mix.

"When Irish Eyes are Smiling," is a hit, Elvis' "Can't help Falling in Love," and a sweet, Broadway-style number "You come from Rhode Island!" which tells a joke or two about most US states (but not Ohio, as one attendee, Francis reminds us). 

One woman at the home, Kay, with beautiful purple glasses, told me, "What you do, when you sing, you take us to places we can't go anymore. We remember. Thank you." 

This type of direct engagement is one that I have found so life-affirming. Regardless of congregational or Assembly labels, the need for human connection, especially with and across elders in our community, is vital to foster a culture that is grounded in compassion. 

We can negotiate on terms, but the focus on the one life we have, and what to do with it, remains a consistent opportunity for all secular congregations. Read more about Humanists Doing Good »

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opinion

A Question for the Religion of Peace

The following is the question I asked at the “Meet the Muslims” panel discussion that was sponsored by our church.  My aim was to see how they would answer the question but also to raise their consciousness about the presence of a substantial constituency of non believers in the general population and to face them with the implications of their scripture for that constituency.

A QUESTION FOR THE RELIGION OF PEACE

My name is David Miller and I am Minister Emeritus of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.  We are sponsoring this panel discussion in the spirit of the verse in Quran 49:13 that says “…we…made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each other).”  (Abdullah Yussuf Ali translation)

This winter I have been re-reading the Holy Quran to refresh my memory about its contents.

I am finding that in surah after surah and page after page it voices condemnation of non believers.  It speaks of the dire punishments Allah has in store for non believers.  It describes non believers as “companions of the fire,” who will be constrained to drink boiling water and will be tortured throughout eternity in the flames of hell.

Concurrently I am aware that last year in Bangladesh Islamic radicals murdered four secular authors, Niloy Neal, Avijit Roy, Ananta Bijoy Das, and Washiqur Rahman.

This is a matter of deep and painful concern for me because I happen to be a non believer.  Many of my friends are non believers.  Some members of my church are non believers.  Many members of my family are non believers.  We are decent, law abiding, peaceable people who have done nothing to deserve being murdered or being tortured throughout eternity.

What does the religion of peace have to say to us?  What place do we have in your world view?

Rev. David J. Miller, Minister Emeritus, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester

February 16, 2016

The panel’s answer was essentially that it is not the place of Muslims to stand in judgment on other people, including non believers and “That is between you and Allah.”  This is similar to the answer that I received on a previous occasion when the imam told me “We will leave that up to Allah.”

This answer evades the issue of the Quran’s cruel doctrine but is, nevertheless, reassuring.  Where Muslims are taking it upon themselves to do something about people like me as they are in Bangladesh, I am in danger.  Where Muslims are content to “leave that up to Allah,” I am safe.

 

Image credit: The Qur'an: A Translation, translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, published by Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an; 25 edition. Read more about A Question for the Religion of Peace »

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opinion

Relax: #Humanism Is Not Mack the Knife

Small Humanist groups are popping up and organizing around the US, some as independent groups, some as interest groups within larger Unitarian Universalist congregations. This movement has drawn some interesting reactions . . .

I know these reactions well, because one of the oddities about my position as a minister at First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis is that many people I meet know up front that I’m a Humanist. Often I get asked to speak various places because I’m a Humanist, but sometimes I meet up with a hostility that surprises me. I’ve even had people say out of the blue, “I KNOW there’s a God!” To which I don’t have much of a response . . . “That’s nice for you”? Or should I take the time to explain that Humanism isn’t really much about that question?

There seems to be a fear that Humanism is a corrosive force that must be contained, a genie in a lamp that must be kept bottled up at all costs. Now, sure, I know that there are those in the freethought community, especially among newly-converted atheists, who do wield reason like a sharp razor. But I’m not one of those, and most Humanists aren’t.

The power of humanist ideas is that we know that we don’t know a whole lot of things, and we’re good with that.

Admittedly I do grow weary of hearing how the Enlightenment screwed everything up. The fact that we all have the right to say what we think . . . or feel . . . is a product of the Enlightenment. So is medicine that actually works.

Oh, and then there’s that head/heart thing. Sometimes I do get snippy about that. Yes, most people know that the whole body contributes to thought. Once upon a time that fact was explained by the head and heart thing; then there was much talk contrasting thoughts occurring in the amygdala and the frontal cortex. Now it appears that different thoughts have different circuits but that all of the brain is involved, all the time. And the rest of the body.

OK, I understand that the head/heart thing is about trusting subjectivity. Sure—I may say “to-may-to” and you say “to-ma-toe.” But, as Radiohead reminds us, “Just because you feel it doesn’t mean it’s there.” Subjectivity makes for an interesting subject of discussion, but it doesn’t guarantee truth claims that are true for everyone.

Such a conviction doesn’t make me—or Humanism—a corrosive force to be contained, or a straight razor to be feared. We aren’t Mack the Knife out to ambush anybody’s Sunday morning. We’re merely part of that diversity thing . . . a good Enlightenment ideal.

http://huumanists.org/local-groups Read more about Relax: #Humanism Is Not Mack the Knife »

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opinion

Happy New Year!

Another year's over and a new one's just begun!

Happy New Year, everyone! 2015 was filled with accomplishments for the UU Humanist Association and 2016 is shaping up to be equally exciting. Last year we:

  • Had booths or tables at GA, many district / regional meetings, and numerous individual congregations
  • Added a dozen new Humanist groups to our directory
  • Held our Humanist of the Year celebration at GA for Kendyl Gibbons
  • Launched the Freethinker Friendly program a new Social Justice program
  • Published new issues of our Journal
  • Contributed to the new book, "Humanist Voices in Unitarian Universalism" from Skinner House, due out soon
  • And much more

If you are not sure of the status of your membership with the UU Humanist Association, please visit the website and join or renew to help keep the association strong. We rely on members for the resources to do the things that we do.

Matching Donations

The matching donations program is on-going: all donations made before the end of February, up to a total of $3200, will be matched by a small group of generous donors. Help us meet this goal by donating today. Thank you.

All the best,

Maria Greene
Executive Director

John Hooper
President Read more about Happy New Year! »

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news

Applications Being Accepted for Freethinker Friendly Congregations

Let people outside your congregation know that UU communities are welcoming to atheists, agnostics, humanists, and other non-theists, and that you value diversity and questioning. A large part of the growing percentage of Americans who have left supernatural beliefs behind still value community and are not anti-religious -- they still seek supportive, loving relationships and a place to belong where they can give back through service.

The Freethinker Friendly program was designed to help congregations communicate that welcome. Many diverse congregations have been working on the requirements since the program was announced last June at General Assembly. Now these congregations may submit their application to be officially recognized as Freethinker Friendly Congregations. We have also set up a Minister-to-Minister advisory service to help answer the questions about how the benefits and goals of the program. See the Freethinker Friendly page for links for both of these. Read more about Applications Being Accepted for Freethinker Friendly Congregations »

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news

SOAP for the Holidays and the New Year

A feature of food pantries in December is the distribution of groceries tied not only to day to day survival, but also to the provision of a festive holiday meal. Client counts rise, lines grow longer, as do the volunteer lists. An added feature this year at the Maple Park/Morgan Park community Food Pantry on Chicago's Southwest side is environmentally friendly dish washing soap. Fully recyclable dispensers of non-toxic, biodegradable Method soap, manufactured in a LEED platinum certified factory just a few miles away are handed out (separately bagged as per health regulations) along with the turkey's, yams, cranberries and other seasonal staples. The first delivery of 100 18 oz bottles was made on December 8, by Roger Brewin (who helped set up the pantry more than 30 years ago) on behalf of UU Humanists.

The SOAP (Save Our Ailing Planet) project was designed as part of UU Humanists' participation in Commit2Respond, (www.Commit2Respond.org) a UU initiative designed to grow the Climate Change Movement, increase reliance on renewable power, and reach out in the process to marginalized communities, often disproportionately effected by a warming planet. The Method factory is completely wind and solar powered, and the clients and many of the volunteers for the pantry are from economically disadvantaged areas of Chicago (as is much of the factory workforce). 

Brewin sees the project as an entry-level-to-climate activism opportunity, with individuals able to participate through donating the cost of one or more bottles of soap, helping to promote the project in their own congregations or humanist groups, and assisting with the collection of donations and delivery of the soap to local pantries and shelters. Congregations and groups willing to replicate the collection and distribution process in their own communities can contact Brewin at 773 551 8540 or Rabrewin@aol.com to receive starter kit. The program starts small, and can fit in with existing work in a Green Sanctuary program, a small group ministry or a religious education social justice curriculum.   

Sufficient donations have been received since the project started just before the 2015 GA, that UU Humanists can now offer a matching grant of 25 bottles to each of the first four groups/congregations that raise enough money for 25 bottles for a pantry or shelter in their own community. Read more about SOAP for the Holidays and the New Year »

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news

Call for Papers on Naturalism

Submissions on the subject of "Naturalism" are sought by UU Humanists for the Spring, 2016 issue of the Journal of Religious Humanism, to be mailed to UU Humanist Association members and subscribers in May, and distributed at the 2016 UUA General Assembly in Columbus, OH., in June.  Opinion pieces or short essays should be in the 800-1500 word range; a 3,000 word limit and a request for footnotes apply to longer articles of a more scholarly nature. Those submitting sermons are asked to convert to a suitable form for print publication, including citations, and the removal of protected text, such as complete hymn lyrics. Writers may submit completed pieces for consideration, or receive a preliminary decision on publication by sending an abstract.

The distribution of this issue will coincide with the presentation of the 2016 Religious Humanist of the Year award to Connie Barlow and Michael Dowd, at the UU Humanists' Annual Meeting at the GA in Columbus. The editor seeks a wide range of views on the subjects of Naturalism, Religious Naturalism, and their relationship to Humanism and UUism.  The audience for this publication is primarily members and friends of UUHA, UU ministers and seminarians, lay members of UU congregations, humanist identified prisoners, and users of the library periodical collections at over 100 institutions of higher education. We anticipate additional copies will be made available to other individuals and groups with an interest in Naturalism.

The Journal of Religious Humanism has a print run of between 1,400 and 2,000 copies, with a small but growing electronic audience. We seek one time publication rights in print and by electronic distribution (by email and on our website), including the right to republish certain offerings in later issues as "Heritage Documents."  We do not ask for exclusive rights, and you are free to seek and accept other publication offers for the same material.  Our general policy is to grant requests from others to reproduce for publication and other uses, subject only to appropriate credit to the Journal and the author;  we make every effort to secure the writer's permission in each case.  

The Journal does not offer payment for articles published. We do supply each author with six* free copies of the issue containing their article, and a two year subscription to the Journal.  

We hope you'll consider a submission, and help celebrate the work of Connie, Michael and the UU Humanists, supporting science, nature and humanism.  

Proposed articles should be submitted as an email attachment, preferably in .rtf format to the Editor at Rabrewin@aol.com. no later than March 1, 2016. 

Abstracts (limited to 250 words) should be submitted in the body of an email, to the Editor at rabrewin@aol.com.  Abstracts submitted before January 15, 2016, will receive a response on that date. Subsequent abstracts will be responded to on a rolling basis.

Roger Brewin, Editor
Journal of Religious Humanism
773 551 8540

*Additional copies upon request - a small shipping fee may apply. Read more about Call for Papers on Naturalism »

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publications

The Fall 2015 Issue of the Journal: The Threading the Interfaith/Interpath Needle

The Fall 2015 issue of the Journal of Religious Humanism has now been delivered to active members' mailboxes and/or Inboxes.

Humanism is so often described as being in opposition to, or at best in a creative tension with religion, that the path of interfaith cooperation can seem highly problematic, and perhaps more trouble than it is worth. Yet increasingly, individuals and Humanist groups join with their religious counterparts on specific social justice and service projects, and simply to further the goal of living side by side, even if in an uneasy peace. The fall 2015 issue of the Journal of Religious Humanism explores these efforts from several points of view - from the humanist organizations that have embraced particular events and coalitions, to individuals of many persuasions who have struggled with what it means to work and celebrate with those whose basic perspective on life is very different.

There are eleven articles ranging from short reports on humanist participation in Washington's 9/11 Unity Walk, and the World Parliament of Religions, to a fairly lengthy series of commentaries by UU ministers of many stripes wrestling with the resources that get used when Interim Ministers from many traditions undergo training together. Writing about "God-Centered Atheists,"  "Lessons for Humanists from 'Night Vale'" (a mystical radio drama), and a "Year of Interfaith Service," our authors give personal accounts of the interfaith experience, some as full blown participants and enthusiasts, and some as part-time experimenters. Read more about The Fall 2015 Issue of the Journal: The Threading the Interfaith/Interpath Needle »

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publications

Welcoming the Closeted

[Editor's note: this is the first of a new monthly column that Rev. David J. Miller is writing for the UU Church of Worcester, MA, where he is Minister Emeritus.]

If we truly wish to make people, and especially minorities, feel welcome in our congregation, it is not enough to sloganize “All Are Welcome!”  People will feel welcomed when we greet them by name as Pope Francis did in the course of his recent speech in Washington, when he asked his audience to pray for him and added, "And those who are not believers and cannot pray, please send me your good wishes."

Many non-believers hunger for the kind of recognition and inclusion represented by Pope Francis’ words.

In contrast, not so long ago a family member said to us in reference to our Humanism: “You are the kind of people who are ruining our nation.”

And I know a young man who was thrown out of his family home while still a teenager when he told his parents that he no longer believed in God.

And I know a person who was fired from his job when it became known that he was a non-believer.

To come out to one’s family as a non-believer may be to risk judgment, condemnation, rejection, and/or ostracism.

To come out as a non-believer in one’s workplace may be to risk discrimination or losing one’s job.

To come out as a non-believer while holding public office may risk political suicide.

And so, many Humanists, Atheists, Agnostics, and Freethinkers remain closeted because it is risky for them to reveal their religious/philosophical/life stance views.

I consider myself fortunate to have discovered UU churches as a teenager and to have a career as a UU minister: beyond the walls of the UU churches in my life, I have been largely closeted.  In the larger community, I have been reticent about revealing my true views on theological issues; but, in UU circles, I could be open and forthright about who I am and what I believe.

At its best, our church is the place where we can hear our names (Humanist, Atheist, Agnostic, Freethinker, or for that matter, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Pagan, Theist, or Christian-who am I forgetting?) pronounced in tones of respect, acceptance, and friendship.

And especially for religious non-conformists, our church is an oasis amid the storm of passionate denunciation of non-believers that emanates from various outspoken religious and political leaders and news channels.

Now, as we reach out to the surrounding community with the aim of increasing the membership and strength of our congregation, I find myself wondering, “How can we reach out with a welcome to the non-believers in our larger community who hunger for the kind of recognition and acceptance that we know how to give?”

 

Rev. David J. Miller, Minister Emeritus
November 5, 2015 Read more about Welcoming the Closeted »

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opinion

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