UUs only: I have a dream

[lilithu]

I have a dream... and that is to build a website that is both a one stop resource for UUs and a way to reach out to religious liberals who might be UUs and not yet know it.

Yes, I know that there is the UUA website. And I love the new look and the long overdue revamp. But it can't hurt to have more voices shouting out there in the wilderness.

I have a dream and I need your help. HELP!!

What I envision is information divided into sections based on what I believe to be the major components of Unitarian Universalism. (It would be interesting to know how your vision of UU differs from mine.) They are:
1) UU specific content, such as UU history, theology, our hymnal, etc.
2) resources from the world's other religions, such as scriptures, stories, prayers from Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Paganism, Taoism, etc.
3) information on social justice as seen from a UU perspective
4) discussion forums (I believe that the UUA shut theirs down)
5) possibly a wiki, depending upon whether others think it's a good idea and also on whether I can figure out how to make one work.

If anyone wants to write op-eds from a UU perspective that would be good too.

I can't possibly do it alone. So I am asking you, dear Unitarian, Universalist, and Unitarian Universalist sisters and brothers, whether you have any interest in any of these sections (or have other suggestions) and are willing to help compile information. And also, more importantly it seems, help me figure out how to organize such information.

Thanks.

 

[Davidium]

Lillithu,

Ok, it is late at night, and Sandy is not looking over my shoulder....

I would be willing to provide a few pieces to such a site, and even to write some on-demand peices and to invite such writings from my fellow UU Seminarians. I could not do any of the administrative functions, but I have long thought such a site would be a wonderful idea.

You know I dont do forums all that much anymore, but just shoot me an email and we will talk about it. Use the email address through www.celestiallands.com

I may already have a few essays that would work for you.

Yours in faith,

David

 

[lilithu]

Lillithu,

Ok, it is late at night, and Sandy is not looking over my shoulder....

I would be willing to provide a few pieces to such a site, and even to write some on-demand peices and to invite such writings from my fellow UU Seminarians. I could not do any of the administrative functions, but I have long thought such a site would be a wonderful idea.

You know I dont do forums all that much anymore, but just shoot me an email and we will talk about it. Use the email address through www.celestiallands.com

I may already have a few essays that would work for you.

Yours in faith,

David

DAVID!! So good to hear from you!! :hug:

I will definitely email you and we can talk more. Do you have any other suggestions for what should go on this site? I'm having a hard time determining what to present that would both fit my interests and also best compliment existing UU sites (instead of re-inventing the wheel, as UUs are wont to do).

Will you be at GA this year?

 

[Davidium]

Unfortunately, I will not be at General Assembly this year...

I will be at the U.S. Army Chaplain's Officers Basic Leadership Course, at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina all summer. I will be doing pushups and running, but also taking coursework in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Military Family Ministry, Military Ethics, and all kinds of such things.

Next year, I will be the Intern Minister at the Unitarian Church of Evanston, IL.

I left a post on some of this in the thread that Wandered Off started (and emailed me about) somewhere else here on RF based on an old short piece I wrote.

As to the site... I will give it some thought. I have been doing alot of work recently with non-UU's who are interested in liberal religious thought through my ministry at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, and the chapel homilies we are writing for that ministry all center around core UU ideas and values. It has been interesting gaining experience in speaking to a congregation that is not UU about Unitarian Universalism. Some of that experience may be what you are looking for.

I will also mention it to a couple of "evangelical leaning" first year seminary students that I know. You might even be able to hook up with a few of them at GA and get thoughts and ideas... and enlist them.

One of the interesting things about seminary is that, though you are very busy, it is one of the last times in your ministerial career that you are completely free in what you say and how you choose your activist work... because it is one of the last times that you will not be responsible either to a church board or an employer of some kind.

And, UU Seminarians are immersed in Unitarian Universalism in ways no one else ever is outside of 25 Beacon Street...

So, in short... We'll talk....



Yours in Faith,

David

 

[lilithu]

I will be at the U.S. Army Chaplain's Officers Basic Leadership Course, at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina all summer. I will be doing pushups and running, but also taking coursework in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Military Family Ministry, Military Ethics, and all kinds of such things.

Thank God.

Next year, I will be the Intern Minister at the Unitarian Church of Evanston, IL.

I'm sure that you will then get to know a good friend of mine, Rose, who was a member of All Souls but recently moved back to Evanston.

And, UU Seminarians are immersed in Unitarian Universalism in ways no one else ever is outside of 25 Beacon Street...

I would love to get input from seminarians. Like you said, you guys are more immersed in UU than anyone else.

I also want to make sure tho that other voices are represented. One thing that I've noticed, as a fully immersed UU who is not a minister, is that ministers are privileged within UU to an extent that I think exceeds even the Protestant Christian denominations. For a religion that claims to be non-hierarchical, we are rather hierarchical. Actually, it's for this reason that I was considering pursuing an M.Div. even tho I have no desire to be a minister. Tho my boss just informed me that I could possibly be ordained without an M.Div, with just a masters in religious studies. I'll be looking into that at GA.

But I digress... I just want to make sure that the site is balanced between clergy and laity.

As you said, we'll talk.

(Great piece btw, the one that Wandered_Off posted.)

 

[hartlandcat]

I have a dream... and that is to build a website that is both a one stop resource for UUs and a way to reach out to religious liberals who might be UUs and not yet know it.

It sounds absolutely great — I'm really excited and enthusiastic about this already!

I have a dream and I need your help. HELP!!

Well, I'll volunteer to help you in any way I can!

Although it no longer exists, I ran a fairly successful website and forum for five years (about Sylvanian Families and Calico Critters, if that means anything to you), so I have experience in the field of web development. So, I'd of course be willing to help with creating content, with the organisation of the website, and with the forum (I kind of miss being involved with a website and had actually contemplated starting something along these lines myself).

I know I've spoken to you before on here, but I'll mention again that I'm British (currently live in England; moving to Scotland in September) — I don't know whether that would be an advantage, a disadvantage, or completely neutral/irrelevant in any help I could give you. — Especially as I presume that most users of this future website would be from the United States.

Anyway, all I can say is that I'm determined for this website to take off!

 

[Green Gaia]

David, it's good to see again, friend! :hug:

Lilithu, I would love to help you, but I'm not a good writer. But if there is anything I can help with, let me know. I would love to help spread our good news.

 

[lilithu]

Amy and HartlandCat, I'm so glad to hear from you! :group:

I realize that people are really busy and that not everyone checks these forums everyday, but when several days went by with no response, I was beginning to think that I was on my own in this endeavor.

Amy, you do not have to write well to contribute. My bet is that there is no shortage of UUs who have opinions on things and want to write about them. (Myself included.) One thing that has long impressed me about what you do on the UU forums is that you find relevant articles, resources, etc. and share them with us. I see that as a very necessary contribution.

HartlandCat, yes, I remember that you are in Great Britain. I must admit that I am a typical American in that I tend to be too self-centered on the U.S. (and Canada, I have learned to remember Canada when thinking of UU). But if I am sincere in my desire to grow and strengthen UU, then one of the things I must keep in mind is our sister congregations outside of North America. I think your perspective would be invaluable, if you don't mind having to kick me in the pants every now and then. I will try to be better.

To you both, the immediate task at hand is to define what kind of resources we would like to present and how to organize them. If you don't mind, I would prefer that this conversation be done in the forums of my website, so that we will have an easily accessible record of it. I am not trying to replace the UU forum here. One of the great advantages of the UU forum here is that it is ultimately connected with the other forums and we get a great exchange and a lot more exposure than we would if it were just UU. But I do think that there are conversations that might be better had in a UU specific forum. (Des, if you happen to be reading this, please know that I consider you to be included if you are interested. Not trying to recruit you, just want you to know that you are not excluded.)

the url is:
http://www.wizdum.net/?q=forum

(Amy, you already have an account on this forum. The system sent you an email with your temporary password. Or I can PM you with it.)

Please know that I really want this to be a collaborative effort, so if you have suggestions/desires, throw them at me!

 

[hartlandcat]

Heya — I've registered on your forum (I'm Benjamin), so I'll just wait for you to start a thread about this in an appropriate place, and then I'll respond to what you've said here on there.

 

[applewuud]

It's a great idea to have a web site like that, and I'd love to contribute.

Why not harness the energy our clergy and laity put into their sermons and put it on the web? We have perhaps 1,000 new sermons preached in UU churches in the U.S. every week. Every minute in the pulpit usually takes an hour to write...so a typical 20-minute sermon represents 20 hours of thought by a religious professional. Sermons are, in effect, carefully crafted and thought-out "posts" delivered to a limited audience of from 50 to 400 people...and then they disappear.

What's needed is a process to harness this energy, and let the most exciting new ideas and thoughts gain a wider audience. You can't "surf" through all those sermons...any more than you can go through all the threads on RF. But RF offers a good model to "let the cream rise to the top". Find a group of people willing to read perhaps 5 sermons, then rate them, and post the results.

The UUWF (Women's Federation) runs a sermon contest every year. I once had the job of retyping all the entries so the judges couldn't tell who had written what. It was really interesting.

There are lots of problems to overcome...but it would be great if every week, we could see a list of the "top 5 UU sermons" from the previous Sunday. This would be a way for the laypeople to give feedback to the clergy of what we find inspiring.

It would be especially cool for people without a UU church in their area if they could watch a video of the sermon/service.

 

[lilithu]

It's a great idea to have a web site like that, and I'd love to contribute.

Why not harness the energy our clergy and laity put into their sermons and put it on the web? We have perhaps 1,000 new sermons preached in UU churches in the U.S. every week. Every minute in the pulpit usually takes an hour to write...so a typical 20-minute sermon represents 20 hours of thought by a religious professional. Sermons are, in effect, carefully crafted and thought-out "posts" delivered to a limited audience of from 50 to 400 people...and then they disappear.

What's needed is a process to harness this energy, and let the most exciting new ideas and thoughts gain a wider audience. You can't "surf" through all those sermons...any more than you can go through all the threads on RF. But RF offers a good model to "let the cream rise to the top". Find a group of people willing to read perhaps 5 sermons, then rate them, and post the results.

The UUWF (Women's Federation) runs a sermon contest every year. I once had the job of retyping all the entries so the judges couldn't tell who had written what. It was really interesting.

There are lots of problems to overcome...but it would be great if every week, we could see a list of the "top 5 UU sermons" from the previous Sunday. This would be a way for the laypeople to give feedback to the clergy of what we find inspiring.

It would be especially cool for people without a UU church in their area if they could watch a video of the sermon/service.

Hi applewuud, namaste.

I really like the idea of "harnessing" the great sermons that our clergy and laity put out. :yes: In fact, I had a few of my favorite sermons on my old site (haven't transfered them over to the new CMS yet). I have also suggested to some at the UUA that they do this on their site.

BUT it's A LOT of work, and I am overwhelmed by the idea that "we" would be reviewing the sermons given from over 1,000 congregations each week. "We" refers to me and anyone who will help. And I can only do this in my spare time, as I have a job and also spend quite a bit of time working within my congregation. And I'm sure that most who would help would be similarly busy.

How about a compromise in which those of you who wish can add the sermons that you most liked from the ones you've been exposed to. Not all, but most of the sermons I've chosen are from my ministers, because that's who I'm exposed to. (I've also found a few I like online.) But if we can get contributions from around the country, it would start to be more representative of our diversity. And if the site is established as a resource, then hopefully more UUs will start contributing. At that time, I would be happy to consider a committee who would go thru and review sermons to pick "the best."

We could most certainly add the UUWF winner, along with other awardees each year.

The cool thing about the CMS I've chosen is that you can categorize entries and then sort them by different parameters. So we could potentially have a library of sermons and be able to display them by topic (for example, sermons on marriage equality or immigration or... dare I say it?, the Easter resurrection) or by location (if we wanted to do such a thing).

As an aside, I would also like to do this with worship materials. We UUs don't have much in that regard: the flower and water communions, the child dedication ceremony... but I know that in my congregation, we sometimes come up with creative "liturgies" (for lack of a better word) that may be of interest to others.

Hartlandcat and I are discussing the site in the forums over there right now, if you are interested: www.wizdum.net/?q=forum

 

[hartlandcat]

BUT it's A LOT of work, and I am overwhelmed by the idea that "we" would be reviewing the sermons given from over 1,000 congregations each week.

I can't really imagine that anywhere near all the sermons from the over 1,000 congregations in the United States plus the 300 or so other English-speaking congregations elsewhere in the world would be submitted every week. I think it's more a case of finding a relatively small number of widely spread ministers (and perhaps lay pastors) who would be willing to contribute sermons not necessarily every week, but on a fairly regular basis.

How about a compromise in which those of you who wish can add the sermons that you most liked from the ones you've been exposed to. Not all, but most of the sermons I've chosen are from my ministers, because that's who I'm exposed to. (I've also found a few I like online.)

This also sounds like a good idea. Presumably this would involve asking the minister if s/he'd be willing to send the sermon to the website, or?

But if we can get contributions from around the country, it would start to be more representative of our diversity.

In addition, I would be able to encourage contributions from Britain by writing an article about this website (when it exists in a more completed form than now) for The Inquirer (our main monthly Unitarian magazine).

And if the site is established as a resource, then hopefully more UUs will start contributing. At that time, I would be happy to consider a committee who would go thru and review sermons to pick "the best."

Also sounds good. (I seem to be contradicting myself here though; on the one hand, I'm saying that it would be better if a few ministers contributed on a regular basis, whilst on the other hand, I'm saying that it would be better if there were lots of contributions).

As an aside, I would also like to do this with worship materials. We UUs don't have much in that regard: the flower and water communions, the child dedication ceremony... but I know that in my congregation, we sometimes come up with creative "liturgies" (for lack of a better word) that may be of interest to others.

I'd also be interested in having a section for hymns, since that's something that I'm particularly interested in. I'd be happy to make a significant contribution to such a section.

 

[lilithu]

So what kind of info would a UU website have that would cause you to return to the site? (ie - what kind of resources might you want?)

 

[Green Gaia]

A website that successfully incorporates activism and spirituality. Most seem to concentrate on one or the other. For me, both are vital to feeling complete in my faith.

 

[lilithu]

A website that successfully incorporates activism and spirituality. Most seem to concentrate on one or the other. For me, both are vital to feeling complete in my faith.

Yes, I agree! I have in mind a section on spiritual resources and a section on social justice. I'm just not sure how to incorporate it. I'm more clear about the spiritual resources. I'd like to assemble sermons and readings and rituals and other elements of worship that UUs could use.

But activism.... Should it be listings of opportunities for activism? Should it be theological reflections about why we do activism? Should it be general information the issues? I just don't want to duplicate what the UUA's website already does, and possibly what other sites do.

 

[Green Gaia]

But activism.... Should it be listings of opportunities for activism? Should it be theological reflections about why we do activism? Should it be general information the issues? I just don't want to duplicate what the UUA's website already does, and possibly what other sites do.

One of the things that is most inspiring to me is reading other people's stories of activism. From the quiet activism of just living your life in the face of injustice to the over-the-top, yes-we're-doing-this-to-bring-attention marching in the streets and waving signs activism. Stories of just everyday, regular people like me. I do think many people would appreciate a listing of opportunities for activism. Many times I hear the comment, "I want to help, but I don't know how or what to do." So perhaps a section that helps people connect with activism opportunities would be very useful.

I know we have the listserve mailing lists that almost every UU I know is subscribed to at least one of, but I don't know of anywhere (besides the UU forum of RF!) where any UU can share what is happening in their congregation, ask for help with a worship topic, etc. That may be beyond the scope of what you were thinking, but compared to adherents of other religions, we're so spread out that having one central location to do that could be neat.

(p.s. I'm finally working a entry to post!)

 

[lilithu]

One of the things that is most inspiring to me is reading other people's stories of activism. From the quiet activism of just living your life in the face of injustice to the over-the-top, yes-we're-doing-this-to-bring-attention marching in the streets and waving signs activism. Stories of just everyday, regular people like me.

:yes: That is something that the UUA is trying to do, collect stories from congregations and share them with other congregations. Altho that still isn't as personal as you are talking about.

I do think many people would appreciate a listing of opportunities for activism. Many times I hear the comment, "I want to help, but I don't know how or what to do." So perhaps a section that helps people connect with activism opportunities would be very useful.

I do want to do that. I'm just not sure how. It would be better if we had a large number of UUs from all around that could post opportunities from their areas. Otherwise, it would just be me/a few of us posting more general things.

I know we have the listserve mailing lists that almost every UU I know is subscribed to at least one of, but I don't know of anywhere (besides the UU forum of RF!) where any UU can share what is happening in their congregation, ask for help with a worship topic, etc. That may be beyond the scope of what you were thinking, but compared to adherents of other religions, we're so spread out that having one central location to do that could be neat.

:yes: It's not beyond the scope of what I'm thinking. I'm just afraid it's beyond the scope of what I/we can do. What I had in mind was building an online UU community across congregations. I want to strengthen our ties with each other. The UUA website has information, but not so much things that build community across congregations. The CLF has community (I assume), but it's meant to be a congregation for people who don't have any other congregation. And this forum on RF has achieved a bit of that , but I would like to couple it with the ability to offer more long term information.

(p.s. I'm finally working a entry to post!)

Working an entry? You mean an article on the site? Cool. What is it about? I will move you to "author" status so that you can post it. Regular members can only post in the forums. I wanted to make sure that people who sign up can't automatically add whatever they want to the site.

 

[lilithu]

I've added some of my favorite UU sermons to my website:
http://www.wizdum.net/?q=taxonomy/term/49

There are others but unfortunately, they're not transcribed and I don't have the time to do that right now.

If you have heard/read sermons that you thought were particularly good, please share! One of the cool things about this CMS is that we can categorize them and then only display certain categories. So for example, if we had a library of sermons, we could display just the UU sermons that were given on marriage equality, or against the Iraq war...

 

[uumckk16]

Hey lilithu!

I'm a bit late in seeing this but I'd like to offer my assistance however I can.

I already have an account on your website's forum but for some reason it won't let me log in. Hm.

Have you thought of compiling a list of UU-related podcasts on the new site? I think it could be a useful resource.

 

[lilithu]

Hey lilithu!

I'm a bit late in seeing this but I'd like to offer my assistance however I can.

I already have an account on your website's forum but for some reason it won't let me log in. Hm.

Hi McK, I sent you a PM regarding log in.

Have you thought of compiling a list of UU-related podcasts on the new site? I think it could be a useful resource.

Sounds good but I haven't a clue how to go about doing that. Would you know?

One idea that I've been toying with is an explanation of how the UUA works. I haven't seen much on that, even at the UUA website.