Posted by Rev. David on January 20, 2012
Break not that circle of enabling love, Where people grow, forgiven and forgiving, Break not that circle, make it wider still, Till it includes, embraces all the living. –Hymn 323, Singing the Living Tradition Recently, the conversation has begun again about what makes a Unitarian Universalist. Are you only a Unitarian Universalist if you are [...]
Categories: Evangelism, Ministry, UU Movement
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Tags: activism, church growth, church outreach, David Pyle, Evangelism, faith, hope, justice, liberal, liberal faith, liberalism, Ministry, Peter Morales, Prophetic Voice, relationship, religion, religious movement, religious tradition, responsibility, unitairan, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist, Universalism, Universalist, UU, UU movement, UU Principles, UUA
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2 comments
Posted by Rev. David on November 4, 2011
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 weeks next to each other, [...]
Categories: History, politics, Social Engagement
| Tags: communal culture, communitarian, communitarianism, community, Evangelism, farmworker, individual ideal, individualism, Jerimiah Johnson, latino, latino migrant, migrant, politics, relationship, responsibility, rugged individual, Shane, UU Principles
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Posted by Rev. David on October 31, 2011
This week, I received an email from an organization I track, known as the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. It is an organization that advocates both legally and in the media, for the protection of the Free Exercise of Religion in the military, often with more passion than restraint. Yet, over the last few years that [...]
Categories: Evangelism, Military, Military Chaplaincy, Ministry, Religious Freedom
| Tags: air force chaplain, are military chaplains constitutional, army chapalin, bad chapalin award, bad chaplain, chaplain, chaplain corps, constituion, constitutionality, Evangelism, faith, katkoff v. marsh, Military, military chaplain, military religious freedom, Military Religious Freedom Foundation, Ministry, MRFF, navy chaplain, religion, Religious Freedom, responsibility, soldier, UU Military, war
| 38 comments
Posted by Rev. David on October 17, 2011
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, Don’t Tell, Don’t Harass, Don’t [...]
Categories: Equality, Faith, liberal faith, Military, Military Chaplaincy, Ministry, Pastoral Care, Religious Freedom, Social Engagement
| Tags: activism, bi-sexual, chaplain, David Pyle, Equality, Evangelism, faith, Forum on the Military Chaplaincy, gay, GLBT, hope, justice, Las Vegas, lesbian, LGB, lgbt, liberal, liberal faith, Military, military chaplain, Ministry, Outserve, politics, Prophetic Voice, relationship, religion, responsibility, Service Members Legal Defense Network, SLDN, soldier, unitairan, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist, Universalism, Universalist, UU, UU Military, UU Principles
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Posted by Rev. David on March 4, 2011
One of the earliest articles I wrote here at Celestial Lands is one where I seek to define, for myself, the meaning of faith (that faith is not belief, it is “sacred trust”). I sometimes think we Unitarian Universalists and others of Liberal Religion have a harder time coping with the word faith than we [...]
Categories: Defining Religious Langauge, liberal faith, Ministry, theology, UU Movement
| Tags: Evangelism, faith, faith filled, faithful, faithfulness, God, hope, lack of faith, liberal, liberal faith, liberal faith blogging, liberal faithfulness, liberalism, liberals lack faith, meaning of faith, mission, peace, Prophetic Voice, relationship, religion, religious left, theology, unitairan, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist, Universalism, UU, UU Principles
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Posted by Rev. David on November 12, 2010
Recently I received a letter from a fellow Unitarian Universalist who is very concerned by incidents and attitudes he perceives among some military chaplains, where they seem to understand themselves as “government-paid missionaries for Christ”. The letter details some of his own research into the issue of some chaplains who view the military as a [...]
Categories: Military, Military Chaplaincy, Ministry, Patriotism, Prophetic Voice, Religious Freedom
| Tags: Christian, Evangelism, justice, liberal faith, Military, military chaplain, Ministry, religion, unitairan, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, Universalist, UU Military
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Posted by Rev. David on January 9, 2010
Most times I take a position on an issue when I write an article for Celestial Lands. This time, I am torn. I know the reasons that I chose to complete at least the base educational requirements for becoming a Board Certified Chaplain by the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC) prior to reporting to my [...]
Categories: Evangelism, Interfaith, Military, Military Chaplaincy, Ministry
| Tags: APC, Association of Professional Chaplains, chaplain, chaplain certification, chaplain standards, chaplaincy, Clinical Pastoral Education, cpe, Evangelism, evangelize, military chaplain, military chaplain standards, military chaplaincy, military CPE, military ministry, Ministry, Professional Chaplains, proselytization, proselytize
| 5 comments
Posted by Rev. David on October 23, 2008
Go to Part 1 Why it is important to “plant a seed”, and how I learned to let go of the results. When I speak of “planting a seed”, I speak from personal experience, for many years ago a seed of Unitarian Universalism was planted in me. It rested on the hard-pack soil of my [...]
Categories: Evangelism, Military, Turnings
| Tags: Evangelism, faith, Military, mission, question, sharing, Unitarian Universalism, what is UU
| 1 comment
Posted by Rev. David on October 13, 2008
Go to Part 1 Opening the answer to the Inquisitive Question “So, can you tell me a little about Unitarian Universalism?” and drawing more questions. This may come as a shock to those brave and committed souls who read the long blog articles at Celestial Lands, but the two keys to answering the inquisitive version [...]
Categories: Evangelism, Interfaith, THE QUESTION, UU Movement
| Tags: Evangelism, faith, Military, mission, question, sharing, Unitarian Universalism, what is UU
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Posted by Rev. David on October 6, 2008
Go to Part 1 The inquisitive “can you tell me a little about your faith?” and Questioning the Questioner. This version of THE QUESTION “Just what is Unitarian Universalism?” is my favorite. It often comes from someone genuinely interested who is trying to understand. It is not an invitation to an evangelical answer however, as [...]
Categories: Evangelism, Interfaith, THE QUESTION, UU Movement
| Tags: Evangelism, faith, Military, mission, question, sharing, Unitarian Universalism, what is UU
| No comments
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