more on liberal values

On the subject of what liberal values really mean, Sara Robinson at Orcinus tells it like it really is in Of Madmen and Martyrs.

liberal values

People often refer to liberals as woolly, vacillating and so on, but they are wrong.

The Unitarian Universalists are about as liberal as it is possible to be. They stand up for gay rights, women's rights, and include gays, Pagans, Buddhists, Hindus & Jews in their congregations. Two of them died for their beliefs last Sunday. You can't call that "vacillating". They stood in front of other members of their congregation to shield them from a gunman who was shooting at them. The gunman shot at them specifically for their liberal and inclusive attitudes. Their liberality is not built on shifting sands; it is an ever-expanding circle of inclusivity. Their Kingdom of Heaven is not receding from them as they march towards it; they are building it here on earth.

I am truly honoured to count myself as a Unitarian knowing that such people are Unitarians.

condolences

The Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church was attacked yesterday by an anti-gay extremist with a gun, who killed two members of the congregation.

It is terribly sad that people were killed for being open, inclusive and loving to other people.

My heart goes out to the congregation and the families of those who died, and they are in my thoughts and prayers.

You can leave condolences at this special blog set up by the Unitarian Universalist Association.

There's also an update on UUA News.

The only thing to hold on to, in the midst of such an experience and the aftermath, is that we can hold on to each other and affirm the web of love and compassion that unifies us even in such dark moments.
- Rev Steve Dick

The androgynous divine

Rabbi unveils a secret of God

Finally the mainstream has noticed what mystics and occultists have known for centuries: the "divine" contains both masculine and feminine, but transcends them.

"This is the kind of God I believe in, the kind of God that makes sense to me, in a language that speaks very, very deeply to human aspirations and striving," Sameth said. "How could God be male and not female?"

Rabbi Mark Sameth noticed that the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) read backwards spells 'hu, hi' (he, she in Hebrew). How marvellous. This will give new impetus to people trying to use gender-inclusive and gender-neutral language in both Judaism and Christianity. Hurrah!

Hebrew	Letter name	Pronunciation
י	Yodh	"Y"
ה	He (pronounced "hey")	"H" (or sometimes silent)
ו	Vav	"V" or placeholder for "O"/"U"
ה	He	"H" or silent

source: Wikipedia

April winds are magical

Emerson in mythopoeic mode:

April

The April winds are magical
And thrill our tuneful frames;
The garden walks are passional
To bachelors and dames.
The hedge is gemmed with diamonds,
The air with Cupids full,
The cobweb clues of Rosamond
Guide lovers to the pool.
Each dimple in the water,
Each leaf that shades the rock
Can cozen, pique and flatter,
Can parley and provoke.
Goodfellow, Puck and goblins,
Know more than any book.
Down with your doleful problems,
And court the sunny brook.
The south-winds are quick-witted,
The schools are sad and slow,
The masters quite omitted
The lore we care to know.

Ralph Waldo Emerson