Raw Faith Premiers on Documentary Channel

Posted by Gary on May 17, 2012

The film Raw Faith will premier this Sunday, May 20, at 8:00 pm Eastern and Pacific on the Documentary Channel.

Raw Faith is a moving love story of Unitarian Universalist minister Marilyn Sewell’s decision to retire from her church, while struggling to reconcile her self-image from her childhood. Unexpectedly, love enters her life — a counterpoint to her lifelong doubts.

Imagine being followed around by a film crew for two years. That’s the extent to which Marilyn opened her life to share her journey and struggles, as you’ll hear in our phone conversation. Raw Faith is wonderfully done, and I think you’ll be moved, as I was.

The Documentary Channel is primarily available on satellite television services DISH Network (Channel 197) and DIRECTV (Channel 267). Check their web site for additional show times if you can’t catch Sunday’s premier.

The film is also available on DVD from Alive Mind Cinema.

If you haven’t already heard it, Marilyn shared her religious journey on Episode 20 of the Be Spiritual podcast.

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Losing Faith

Posted by Gary on May 1, 2012

NPR’s religion correspondent Barbara Bradley Haggerty tells this touching story of a Methodist pastor whose spiritual searching led her to conclude that she’s an atheist.

Of course, that’s anathema in a traditional Christian church.

So Teresa MacBain played her ministerial role hypocritically. After the internal conflict became too much to bear and she declared her true belief — or lack of — she had to resign and face ostracism from her church community.

Had she been a Unitarian Universalist, her questioning would have been encouraged, her atheism accepted, her spirit nurtured.

Listen to NPR’s story.

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This I Believe

Posted by Gary on March 18, 2012

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All nine of us who serve as Worship Associates at the UU Church of Nashua (NH) will be sharing what we believe during this morning’s service.

All nine of us in under 60 minutes. We need to allow time for opening and closing hymns, an outreach offering, Spirit of Life. That leaves only two to three minutes for each of us to crisply articulate whatever “answers” we have found to the spiritual questions that all of us ponder throughout our lives.

I thought I would share my own thoughts with you, since I’m usually asking others what they believe.

Kim Crawford Harvie, Minister of the Arlington Street Church in Boston, spells G*d with an asterisk. This asterisk is nice shorthand to reflect the conundrum of my religious wonderings since I became skeptical of the paternalistic view of the divine, the concept of God I was raised with.

And while it’s easy for me to reject that view, it’s not as easy for me to say that there is no divinity.

Our rational minds, thinking both logically and abstractly, and enabled by the scientific method, have discerned that the universe was formed in a big bang some 14-billion years ago. We have watched and modeled planets, stars, galaxies, and black holes. We probe the microscopic spaces of the atom and have subdivided it into waves and a myriad of particles. Between these two extremes, governed by natural laws that we have uncovered, we have also discovered the concepts of compassion, justice, and love.

Observing this incredible abundance of nature and life, and trying to comprehend it all, I suspect some sort of creative force propels the universe. Not a totally deterministic force that predicts each and every sparrow’s fall, rather a creative force that embraces randomness and works through quantum mechanics, evolution, free will, curiosity, and imagination.

Richard Kearney, a professor of philosophy at Boston College, has written a book titled The God Who May Be. The first line of his introduction is the provocative assertion that “God neither is … nor is not … but may be.”

“What I mean by this,” he says. “Is that God, who is traditionally thought of as act or actuality, might better be rethought as possibility.”

The creative force that started the universe has given us life. Whether that process was intentional or random doesn’t really matter.

We are here, each of us, with too few years to respond to the possibilities before us. Do we embody the promises of compassion, of justice, of love?

If we do, we will rise to become worthy agents of the creative force, helping to make real Kearney’s God of possibility — a G*d I can believe in.

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Raw Faith

Posted by Gary on March 4, 2012

Last week I finally had the opportunity to see the movie Raw Faith. The film tells the story of Marilyn Sewell, Unitarian Universalist minister, as she makes the difficult decision to leave her Portland church and, amidst her doubts and deliberations about the meaning of her life, falls in love.

The portrayal of Marilyn’s life journey is deeply moving. Marilyn’s transparency in sharing her life is inspiring, and filmmaker Peter Wiedensmith’s telling of the story is amazing, considering this was his first such endeavor.

If you have the opportunity to see the film, do so. It’s available for download now, is scheduled for airing on TV, after which it will be available on DVD. You can watch the trailer below.

I had the privilege to interview Marilyn about her spiritual journey, which became Episode 20 of this podcast. You can listen to our conversation here, which I think nicely complements the movie. When Marilyn and I spoke, I had not yet seen the film.

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My Soul

Posted by Gary on February 12, 2012

Through the happenstance enabled by Google, photographer Mark Ellis contacted me recently to share a time-lapse video he produced over the past year. Entitled My Soul, the scenes were shot in northern Minnesota, often on bitterly cold nights. The title of the work reflects the song by Peter Mayer which accompanies the stunning views.

I commend Mark’s creation and hope it may bring you a sense of quiet and peace amidst the frantic and chaotic lives we often lead.

You’ll find Mark’s web site here and Peter Mayer’s web site here.

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Transcendence

Posted by Gary on October 15, 2011

Core to being spiritual, in my view, is maintaining a sense of transcendence. That’s a “big word” way of saying connecting with the mystery and wonder outside of ourselves and our humdrum routines.

Probably the most effective way for me to maintain that connection is through nature. Growing up at the base of the Sierra, I particularly resonate with the majesty of the mountains. Yet any view of the grandeur of the earth triggers that transcendent reflex for me. That’s why I love Terje Sørgjerd’s photography. Here’s his latest, with views from western Norway.

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Worship

Posted by Gary on October 1, 2011

Michelangelo's image of God, from the Sistine Chapel, courtesy of WikipediaI’m working with three members of my church to plan a worship service on the meaning of worship. We intend to explore what draws Unitarian Universalists to church for a communal hour on Sunday mornings.

When I was 8 or 9, my mother started taking me to church. Initially we attended a Methodist church, largely because of the children’s choir and Boy Scout troop. Around the time I started high school, we switched to the Baptist church, which my mother had attended before I was born. In these churches the meaning of worship was clear: we went to worship God, and when we prayed, we prayed to God.

One of the hallmarks of Unitarian Universalism is the right to fashion one’s own view of a deity, assuming such a concept is meaningful. Indeed, many in our pews consider themselves atheists, agnostics, secular humanists, etc. and find no relevance in the idea of a supernatural power. Some number of our parishoners arrived with what Rev. John Buehrens (UU minister and former UUA President) has termed the religious bends. The diving metaphor is apt, reflecting the need these souls feel to decompress from the guilt and damnation of their prior religious experiences.

Given this theological background and diversity, the term worship  in a UU congregation is probably neutral, at best, and pejorative to some — which prompts the question whether a UU worship service is an oxymoron. Yet, ironically, Rev. Sue Phillips (UU minister and district executive) has described worship as the beating heart of every congregation.

Despite the common perception that worship requires a deity, the word stems from the Old English term weorthscippen, meaning “to ascribe worth to something.” That root provides the basis for answering the question what brings UUs together on Sunday morning? What is it that we find worthy?

In UU fashion, we each articulate a unique answer. I come to church seeking connection, a connection with transcendence, a transcendence that will allow me to be present before the mystery and meaning of life. My Sunday mornings are most always rewarded through words that bring insight and inspiration, music, and a nurturing community of fellow travelers.

I don’t go to church to worship the God of my upbringing. I do go to rekindle the sense of awe for the grand and creative forces that drive the universe and brought me life. I go for the insight and inspiration that will enable my journey to be worthy of the days I am given.

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Perspective

Posted by Gary on June 4, 2011

Are you in need of perspective, a sense of your place in the world, a reason to step outside the busyness of life and reconnect with the grandeur of nature?

If so, watch this time-lapse production by Norwegian photographer Terje Sorgjerd. You’ll find the story of his amazing production here.

The Arctic Light from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

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Be Spiritual – Episode 24

Posted by Gary on May 30, 2011

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UU Chalice by Inga Johannesen, UU Church of Chattanooga, TNMy guest this episode is Cynthia Schroer.

Cynthia began her religious life as a devoted Catholic. In time she became disillusioned with the church and — in one of those unexpected coincidences of life — a search for a preschool led her to a UU church and a new religious home.

Since that serendipitous encounter, her spiritual journey has blended Unitarian Universalism with Buddhism. Unitarian Universalism provides the space within which to sculpt her beliefs, Buddhist meditation a means to be active spiritually.

During our conversation, Cynthia shares the challenge of parenting as a UU and her most formative spiritual experience: childbirth.

To listen to this 40 minute episode, use the above audio player, download the mp3 file, or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

Our theme music is Floating Souls, composed and performed by Ambrish and made available royalty-free thanks to Music Alley from Mevio. The chalice artwork was created by Inga Johannesen, of the UU Church of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

More Information

To explore some of the topics Cynthia refers to in her conversation, check out these links:

Your comments on this episode or the podcast are always welcome. Use the links below to comment or share with friends.

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The Face of god

Posted by Gary on April 21, 2011

Captured by Norwegian photographer Terje Sorgjerd. You can read the details of the project here.

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