There is a myth that underlies much of American society, and this myth is the greatest support to those who wield authority in our country. It is the myth that “We The People of these United States” somehow hold inherent authority… just by virtue of being “the People”. I have … Read more →
Category Archives: Social Engagement
There Will Come a Point…
There will come a point when we realize that protest no longer works as a tool of systemic change. That it does not matter how many people you can bring out into the streets, or how many signatures you have on a petition, or how many calls a government office … Read more →
Resistance in Social Justice — Sermon by the Rev. David Pyle
Last Preached on January 26th, 2014 I never imagined that I would be considered a Social Justice Minister. You cannot become a Unitarian Universalist Minister without having some knowledge, interest, and willingness to be involved in Social Justice, in working to and organizing others to transform the world from what … Read more →
Eboo Patel
“The marches, the sit-ins, the braving of fire hoses and attack dogs, had not been about safeguarding the rights of one community. The purpose was to expand and secure a framework that protected all communities.”
Excerpt from “Don’t Sleep through the Revolution” by MLK
But I must say to you this evening, my friends, there are some things in our nation and in our world to which I’m proud to be maladjusted. And I call upon you to be maladjusted and all people of good will to be maladjusted to these things until the … Read more →
Reinhold Niebuhr
“We believe that our loyalty to the ideal of love is best served by remaining free of conflict. But our love is a loveless love which refuses to assume its fair share of responsibility for the relative justice and relative peace which is possible in the world but possible only … Read more →
Oscar Romero
“When I feed the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor are poor, they call me a communist.”
Pema Chödrön
“Global change is based on individual transformation.”
Susan B. Anthony
“I pray every single second of my life; not on my knees, but with my work. My prayer is to lift women to equality with men. Work and worship are one with me. I cannot imagine a God of the universe made happy by my getting down on my knees … Read more →
Dag Hammarskjold
“The road to holiness necessarily passes through the world of action.”
Charles Peguy
“Everything begins in mysticism and ends in politics.”
Richard Gilbert
“The social without the spiritual is rudderless; the spiritual without the social is vacuous.”
Robert Fulghum
“I do not want your sympathy for the needs of humanity. I want your muscle. I do not want to talk about what you understand about this world. I want to know what you will do about it. I do not want to know what you hope. I want to … Read more →
Ken Jones
“Both in nature and yet transcending it, we humans have to live our own lives; it is not lived for us, as with the animals. We are doomed never to find real peace until we have faced and truly responded to the human paradox — that is, until we have … Read more →
Martin Luther King, jr.
“Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must ever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must … Read more →
Seanan Holland
“Public ministry is about the causes of life being nasty, brutish, and short. Private ministry is about how we live with life being nasty, brutish and short.”
Martin Luther King, jr.
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
Steve Bantu Biko
“It is better to die for an idea that will live, than to live for an idea that will die.”
Steve Bantu Biko
“The power of a movement lies in the fact that it can indeed change the habits of people. This change is not the result of force but of dedication, of moral persuasion.”
Sydney Harris
“If any preacher tells you that personal salvation can be achieved without first paying attention to social justice, you may know by this sign alone that you are listening to a false prophet.”
Cory Booker
“Power is not about position, it is about purpose.”
Margaret Mead
“Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Vaclav Havel
“Work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed.”
Albert Schweitzer
“Anyone who proposes to do good must not expect people to roll stones out of his way, but must accept his lot calmly if they even roll a few more upon it.”
The Man in Black — Sermon by the Rev. David Pyle
Last preached on June 16th, 2013 Every Father’s Day, I cannot help but wonder about what my father would think about who I am today. Though he passed away over 20 years ago, his presence in my life is as full and as real today as it was when … Read more →
Observations About Humanity… From Driving a Smart Car
A few months ago, the van that I have driven for these last several years decided it was tired and was not going to go anywhere anymore, and so my wife and I began researching and shopping for a new-to-us car. Now, I have bought many cars over the years, … Read more →
The Disappearing Social Contract — Sermon by the Rev. David Pyle
Last preached on March 25th, 2012 I love Church. I think you all know that I love church. I love almost everything about church, and I really have ever since I was a child. I grew up in church, made my first friends in church, made my first good … Read more →
So… What Comes After the Revolution?
It is far easier for us humans to know what we are against than it is for us to know what we are for. Learned responses and internal morality can tell us if we are “against” something that we experience in our lives. We can know that we do not … Read more →
Individuality and the American Dream
I’ve been thinking this past week about a class I took during my undergraduate degree, called “Political Thought in American Film”. It was class in my minor that combined two things I love, politics and movies… how could I resist? Specifically, I’ve been thinking about two films we watched in … Read more →
The Role of Faith for the Military Chaplain
In the fall of 2011 I was honored to attend the first ever OutServe Leadership Conference. This was the first time for this organization of LGB persons actively serving in the military to gather publicly, since such public gatherings and recognition was made possible by the repeal of Don’t Ask, … Read more →
Then You Win: Institutionalization and the Occupy Wall Street Protests
Over the last few weeks, I’ve had some hesitancy to write about my thoughts on the “Occupy Wall Street” protests, and the reaction to them that is happening in the more conservative ends of our country. The reason for my hesitancy is that this is a place where my theoretical … Read more →
Bearing Witness or Smug Paternalism?
Recently, there has been some chatter in UU Ministerial and Lay-Leadership circles around the upcoming plans for the Unitarian Universalist Association “Justice GA” in Phoenix Arizona, focusing on how it is planned for those who attend to do far more learning and bearing witness on the issue of immigration, than … Read more →
Why I’m Not Celebrating the Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
It may not be something that is in the minds of most of the public, but today, September 20th, has been a date on my mind for these last two months. It is a day long hoped for, long worked for, and dreamed of by many. It is a day … Read more →
It’s okay to be Takei…
What more could I add? I want a coffee mug… Yours in Faith, Rev. David
Audacity as an Art Form
So, I think all of the regular readers of the Celestial Lands know that I watch Rachel Maddow. In truth, my Rachel Maddow fandom goes all the way back to Air America, where I was one of the few, the proud, the Liberal Radio Audience (as anyone unfortunate enough to … Read more →
The Feeling of Abandoning the Field
In my weekly pastoral letter to my congregation here in Midland Michigan, I spoke of a feeling that I have. It is a feeling I know makes no rational sense, but I have long believed that feelings are not necessarily supposed to make rational sense. They are the soul trying … Read more →
Being a Reluctant Radical — Sermon by Rev. David Pyle
Last preached on March 13th, 2011 Reading Excerpt from “Unitarian Christianity” by Rev. William Ellery Channing Also known as the Baltimore Sermon, this excerpt is from the ordination sermon of Rev. Jared Sparks in 1819, and is considered by many the official birth of American Unitarianism. We indeed grant, that … Read more →
The Expiring Cultural Power of Mass Protest Movements
What gives mass protests their power? Is it the will and voice of the people? Is it the power of the ideals that motivate them? Is it the amount to which they adopt civil, peaceful, resistance methods? Is it their hope for the future? Or when they represent a broad … Read more →
The Dream of Dr. King — Sermon by the Rev. David Pyle
Last preached on January 16th, 2011 There once was a young African American seminary student, attending the Theology School at Boston University, and looking for his spiritual home, both as a religious human being and as a future minister. His wife had attended Unitarian Churches in the years before … Read more →
Liberal Religious Social Justice
I have had some wonderful and amazing conversations, both in person and online, in relation to my recent article on Gun Control, Militias, and the Second Amendment. I can always tell when I’m doing “good work” when people respond passionately and personally to an article, some in favor of what … Read more →
Living with the Prophetic Voice — Sermon by the Rev. David Pyle
Last preached on January 9th, 2011 There was a day in 2005, when I was the administrator and Student Minister for the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Galveston County, TX, when I ran into someone at the local grocery store who had visited the fellowship for awhile and then stopped … Read more →
Shocked that our Nation is Shocked
Last Saturday, when our nation learned of the tragic shooting in Tucson Arizona of 20 people, including the killing of Federal Judge John Roll and the wounding of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, I was in a Board Retreat with my congregation’s Board of Trustees. None of us learned of the shooting … Read more →
It Does Not Feel Like a Victory
As a civilian pastor and as a military veteran, I think I was pretty clear over the years that I thought the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy was unjust, unfair, and asked service members to violate their own honor by lying about such a core part of their identity. I … Read more →
Liberal Faith’s Learning Lab
I recently had a series of conversations with ministerial colleagues that re-ignited a thought I have been working around for some time… What in the world do we do liberal religion for? What could justify all of the expenses of maintaining a church or a Fellowship? What makes the anguish … Read more →
Some Political Musings on the Non-engaged Democratic Party
Every once in awhile here at Celestial Lands, I offer some thoughts on politics. Nothing gets me in “trouble” here more than when I offer thoughts on politics. I’m probably on even less firm ground with this one than others, because it is not even really a thought, just a … Read more →
Ministry is Dangerous
Many of you know that I recently went through a time of liminality and discernment about the path toward practicing my ministry, sparked by the military choosing to offer me Reserve Military Chaplaincy instead of Active Duty. There have been many interesting and amazing aspects of that time of liminality … Read more →
Ware Lecture Day, My Accessioning, and Going to Arizona in 2012: GA 2010 Day 4
My discomfort with the framing of the debate around boycotting Arizona, my accessionnig as a Military Chaplain, and the Ware Lecture by Winona LaDuke … Read more →
Communion, General Assembly, and Openness
The committment to remain open on the issues before this General assembly, and why I really go to GA… … Read more →
Sermon: What Happened to Decoration Day?
Did our nation make the shift from Decoration Day as a National Day of Mourning to the Celebration of Memorial Day to protect us from seeing the true costs of war? … Read more →
Inoculation Through Creating Common Wisdom Narratives
I am fascinated with how we human beings create narratives or stories, and then derive our meanings from them. In politics, this manifests in several different ways, one of the most obvious being how a “narrative” is created by any successful candidacy for high political office (Obama the Reformer, McCain … Read more →