new UU holidays
Ohio River Group attendees were challenged to create new UU holidays, by Susan Smith (District Executive of the Southwestern UU Conference). The idea was to create something embodied, something authentically and wonderfully our own, not a derivative or partially-UU experience. It's a hard task, one I want to continue to chew on. We didn't create any holidays, but we did do some good work on other UU rites--a leavetaking ritual for a dying person and hir family & friends; a membership ritual for new members (including inviting them to bring a flower, to add to the bouquet on the chancel, symbolic that they are bringing their gifts to the congregation, not merely receiving, and a recitation of the covenant, so all members, new and old, recommit to their shared covenant); and a forgiveness ritual (we liked Les Kleen's music in the turquoise "Singing the Journey" supplement; I mentioned Post Secret).
posted by Chip @ 1:47 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I've got a Holiday for you:
How about a holiday to commemorate the life and morn the death of the UU Viola Liuzzo. Most UU Churches have some type of service to remember the sacrifice of MLK, but we do nothing to remember the assasination of the brave white woman UU who gave her life so African Americans (like me) have the right to vote.
She was the only white woman to die in the Civil Rights struggle, Dr. Rev King gave her eulogy, and many pundits and historians believe it was her murder that ussered in the voting act. In an era where we want to do more for society, where ministers brainstorm on ways to encourage their congregations to do more, she is a shining example of someone who traveled hundred of miles to tend people she didn't know, for a cause that didn't affect her, and paid the ultimate sacrifice for it.
I was talking about this with a group at my church last night. I mentioned how the Muslim group in Jackson has an Eid celebration that they invite the community to. The African American churches do an MLK service that the community turns out for. The Christian churches have an ecumenical Thanksgiving service that the community comes to. I was wondering, what is a UU service that we could take out into the community and invite the whole community to attend? My thoughts were a public flower communion, perhaps.
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