Posted by Rev. David on September 14, 2012
Freedom is one of the most misunderstood concepts in the United States, and perhaps in the world. Be it Religious Freedom, or Freedom of Speech, or the Freedom of the Press, the Freedom of Association, or any of the common conceptions of freedom that we experience in the United States, I believe that we as [...]
Categories: Defining Religious Langauge, Patriotism, politics, Prophetic Voice
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Tags: American freedom, attack, embassy, free, freedom, freedom of association, freedom of religion, Freedom of Speech, freedom of the press, History, Islam, liberal, liberalism, politics, Prophetic Voice, protests, relationship, religion, responsibility, violence
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7 comments
Posted by Rev. David on August 27, 2012
It has now been over 2 years since I was ordained as a Unitarian Universalist Minister, and each of those years I have spent in more than full time ministry as a minister in our congregations, as well as a reserve military chaplain. Prior to that was a little over 5 years of ministerial preparation, [...]
Categories: ecclesiology, Ministry, Pastoral Care, Turnings
| Tags: change, David Pyle, liberal faith, military chaplain, Ministry, ordination, past, relationship, religion, responsibility, soldier, tranformation, transition
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Posted by Rev. David on August 8, 2012
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, but usually the driving factor [...]
Categories: Humor, Social Engagement, Turnings
| Tags: aggressive drivign, automobile, car culture, cars, Expedition, human nature, humanity, Hummer, liberal, liberal faith, liberalism, love my Smart Car, Mercedes, minister car, new car, principles, relationship, responsibility, SMART, Smart Car, Smart Passion Coupe, SUV, UU Principles, values
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Posted by Rev. David on April 4, 2012
We human beings have many times many different prejudices. I’m not trying to make a value statement in saying that, just naming something that I believe is an inherent aspect of human nature. We are deeply prejudiced beings. It is impossible that this not be the case. I have never met anyone who did not [...]
Categories: theology
| Tags: can humans know truth, God, knowing, liberal, liberal faith, objective reality, paterns of knowing, percpetion, preconception, prejudice, racism, reality, relationship, religion, theology, theory of knowing, truth, ultimate truth
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Posted by Rev. David on February 17, 2012
One of the first essays I ever wrote in seminary, and the first essay I ever had published, was on the need for Unitarian Universalism to develop integrated spiritual practices that can be shared and engaged by large groups of Unitarian Universalists. In that essay, I make the case that someone could make a spiritual [...]
Categories: Faith, Principles as Spiritual Practice, Spiritual Practice, UU Movement
| Tags: Abraxis, faith, Humiliati, liberal faith, Ministerial Sisterhood, Ministry, monastic order, relationship, religion, religious order, Spiritual Practice, unitairan, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist, Universalism, Universalist, UU, UU order, uu practice, UU Principles, UU Spirit, UU spirituality
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Posted by Rev. David on January 28, 2012
What it means to be a Unitarian Universalist has been on my heart this last week. Not surprisingly, considering that many UU’s are currently thinking about similar things in reaction to the recent white paper from Rev. Peter Morales titled “Congregations and Beyond”. I know there is a lot behind that paper that is not [...]
Categories: ecclesiology, Faith, liberal faith, UU Movement
| Tags: church membership, congregations and beyond, dan hotchkiss, David Pyle, faith, governance and ministry, liberal faith, liberalism, Peter Morales, politics, Prophetic Voice, relationship, religion, religious identity, responsibility, unitairan, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist, Universalism, Universalist, UU, UU identity, UUA
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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
| 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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Posted by Rev. David on January 15, 2012
This sermon was presented at the UU Church of Ventura, on January 15th, 2011. As a child growing up in Hawaii, I danced the hula. This was not an abnormal thing, growing up in Hawaii. In fact, my first encounter with the hula was in a class at school, where in third grade we were [...]
Categories: Inspiration, Sermons, UUCV
| Tags: dancing, David Pyle, hula, liberal faith, matt harding, Ministry, relationship, sermon, soul, spirit, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalist, Universalism, Universalist, UU, UU Church of Ventura, UU Sermon
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Posted by Rev. David on December 27, 2011
My life has been one of change. Change both within and without. That reality affects my preaching, it affects how I build relationships, it affects how I look at the universe. As I have been reflecting on this past year, I have been struck by how much change was within it… and how that change [...]
Categories: Ministry, Turnings
| Tags: change, David Pyle, Frank Herbert, interim ministry, liberal faith, minister, Ministry, move, relationship, responsibility, surprises, transformation, transition, transitional ministry, universe of surprises
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Posted by Rev. David on November 24, 2011
On this day, Thanksgiving Day, I think we are remembering the wrong message. I think our society has taken the wrong meaning from the mythologized story of starving pilgrims, a coming hard winter, and Native Americans who shared. We give thanks to God, or to some sense of the Universe taking care of us for [...]
Categories: God, History, Turnings
| Tags: American, Christian, compassion, faith, indians, justice, meaning, meaning of thanksgiving, native americans, native peoples, pilgrims, relationship, responsibility, thanksgiving, thanksgiving indian, thanksgiving tribe, theology, tribes, wampanoag
| 2 comments
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