Posted by Rev. David on June 27, 2012
Oh Lord, Is this really where we are? A man once said, “I believe, but help my unbelief”. I’m not sure I ever understood, until I myself had to cry out to you, Is this really where we are, oh Lord. Are we really as far from the Kingdom of God as it sometimes seems? [...]
Categories: Equality, liberal faith, Prophetic Voice
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Tags: activism, Birmingham Jail, Christian, Equality, faith, hope, Jesus, justice, lament, liberal faith, Maricopa Jail, military chaplain, prayer, Prophetic Voice, psalm, psalmist, Spiritual Practice, standing on the side of love, theology
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Posted by Rev. David on March 30, 2012
One of the aspects of a Clinical Pastoral Education Residency that was most valuable to me was spending a year with ministers from other religious traditions, being required to have deep discussions about theology, about pastoral care, and about our life experiences. It not only helped me to broaden my own horizon, but it also [...]
Categories: liberal faith, theology
| Tags: book, Christian, David Pyle, faith, God, good and evil, hope, justice, liberal, liberal christian systemic theology, liberal faith, nature of god, religion, Rev. Pyle, Spiritual Practice, systemic theology, theology, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist, Universalism, Universalist, UU, UU systemic theology, write a book
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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
| 6 comments
Posted by Rev. David on October 24, 2011
There are times where the internal shifts necessary to be in a life of ministry in our liberal faith tradition are more obvious than others. As Unitarian Universalist ministers, we often emphasize a radical leveling in our ministries, and many UU ministers react against the classical understanding that ministers should live “a life apart”, or [...]
Categories: ecclesiology, Ministry, Spiritual Practice
| Tags: being a minister, David Pyle, faith, introspection, liberal faith, life of ministry, ministerial formation, Ministry, reflection, relationship, seminary, set apart, Spiritual Practice, theology, unitairan, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist, Universalism, Universalist, UU, UU Principles
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Posted by Rev. David on August 31, 2011
There are many amazing aspects about the process of meeting a new church. Of course there are the challenges of moving into a system that is already well established, of becoming subject to traditions and power-lines that are long established, and to engage congregational dynamics as they flow and shift. It is to see the [...]
Categories: Ministry, Pastoral Care, Spiritual Practice, UUCV
| Tags: Buddhism, depth, dogen, emotion, identity, Ministry, relationship, self, soul, spirit, Spiritual Practice, theology, Zen, zenji
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Posted by Rev. David on July 11, 2011
I was determined to give myself a gift at the end of 5 years of seminary, church internship, military chaplain basic training, hospital internship and hospice residency… and I did not know what I wanted. Could I be craving a vacation on a beach in the Caribbean? Well, always… but I doubt I will ever [...]
Categories: Inspiration, Military, Turnings
| Tags: av's, Bosnia, chaplain, colorado avalanche, David Pyle, David Weber, gift, hockey, honor, Honor Harrington, Honorverse, internship, Jim Baen, Military, military chaplain, Ministry, red wings, religion, residency, sci fi, science fiction, seminary, soldier, Spiritual Practice, theology, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist, Universalism, Universalist, UU, UU Military, UU Principles, war
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Posted by Rev. David on June 26, 2011
I want to say on Celestial Lands what I said in person to many people about the overall “theme” for this General Assembly. In my most humble opinion, the overall theme was not the 50th Anniversary of the UUA. It was not where we will be as a religion in another 50 years. It was [...]
Categories: General Assembly, liberal faith, Spiritual Practice, UU Movement
| Tags: compassion, congregational polity, connection, David Pyle, faith, GA 2011, General Assembly, General Assembly 2011, Gini Courter, justice, Kaaren Anderson, Karen Armstrong, liberal, liberal faith, Prophetic Voice, relationship, Spiritual Practice, theology, unitairan, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist, Universalism, Universalist, UU, UUA, UUA General Assembly
| 2 comments
Posted by Rev. David on June 26, 2011
My experience of the fourth day of the 2011 General Assembly in Charlotte, NC, was framed around two lectures… the Murray Street Address by the Rev. Bill Sinkford… and the Ware Lecture by Karen Armstrong. For me, these two lectures swam in my personal pond through waters that have been in me for some time… [...]
Categories: General Assembly, Principles as Spiritual Practice, Spiritual Practice
| Tags: 12 Steps to a Compassionate Life, Bill Sinkford, compassion, compassion charter, copassion, General Assembly, Karen Armstrong, liberal faith, relationship, religion, spirit, spiritual, Spiritual Practice, TED, theology, unitairan, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist, Universalism, Universalist, UU, UU Principles
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Posted by Rev. David on March 27, 2011
I always know I’m onto something when I can get a congregant to look at me cross-eyed. A few months ago I was having a conversation with a dear congregant from a corporate background about how our Fellowship here in Midland “did things”. How our committees and teams function, how members relate to staff, how [...]
Categories: Defining Religious Langauge, Ministry, Spiritual Practice, UUFOM
| Tags: adaptive leadership, anxiety, anxiety management, change, church administration, church efficiency, congregation, David Pyle, disequilibrium, efficiency, growth, liberal, liberal faith, Military, Ministry, relationship, responsibility, societal transformation, spiritual growth, Spiritual Practice, theology, transformation, transformative change, unitairan, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist, Universalism, use of anxiety, UU Principles
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Posted by Rev. David on December 29, 2010
Every year at this time of year I end up having the conversation with someone (usually a congregant) about church life, me, and alcohol. There is a familiar flow to the conversation, and I thought this year, after having one conversation with a friend and ministerial colleague along these lines already, I thought I might [...]
Categories: Ministry, Spiritual Practice, UU Movement
| Tags: alcohol, alcohol at church, beer, bier, Cardinal's Crest, coffee and brandy, drinking at church, dunkel weiss, General Assembly, liberal faith, Ministry, Niven, responsibility, Spiritual Practice, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist, wine, wine at church, writer's drink
| 3 comments
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