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 →
Tag Archives: Unitarian Universalist
Bridging Day becomes Car Repair Day becomes Baby Day: General Assembly 2010 Day 3
Day 3 of General Assembly for me went all off kilter, but became a time of relationship building, maintining, and creating. … Read more →
Service of the Living Tradition Day: GA 2010 Day 2
Day 2 of General Assembly has always been in my mind “Service of the Living Tradition Day”… and this year it was my Service of the Living Tradition. Oh, and I took communion as well… … Read more →
Opening Day: GA 2010 Day 1
Reflections on the First Day of General Assembly 2010: Seeing colleagues and friends, and the most Freudian Chalice Lighting of All Time! … Read more →
Moving out of Liminality, and Into New Ministries
As I move out of my space of liminality and into the ministries I will carry in the coming year, the expeirence of intentional creative not-knowing has been incredible. … 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 →
The Liminal Space of Intentional Not-Knowing
The last month has been a liminal space for me, as I have intentionally stayed in a space of not-knowing when it comes to what the next few years will bring. Perhaps there is a key to understanding our faith tradition in such liminality. … Read more →
Ordained, and Thank You…
My thank you to everyone who participated in and helped to make my ordination by the Unitarian Church of Evanston, IL such a wonderful event… if a long one… … Read more →
Long Robes and Titles – Reflection Upon my Upcoming Ordination
What does it mean when someone calls a minister “Reverend”? Is it an honorific, or is it perhaps something else. Not an academic question for me anymore… … 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 →
Service of Ordination at the Unitarian Church of Evanston Illinois
I am honored to announce that, on Sunday June 6th at 4pm, the Unitarian Church of Evanston, IL will Ordain me, David Pyle, as a Unitarian Universalist Minister. Visit the link below to RSVP. Fomal invitations will be mailed by the congregation soon to ministers, family, and colleagues. https://www.rsvpmenow.com/rsvpbeta/?id=20919 Yours in Faith, David
Religions of Differentiation
At around 18 years old I decided I was no longer a Southern Baptist. There were many reasons for that decision. At the time I would have said that I just could no longer accept the contradictions inherent in accepting the Bible as literal truth, or that the hypocrisy I … Read more →
The Moral Burden of the Unitarian Universalist
One of the common responses to Unitarian Universalism that I found among my military chaplain colleagues is the belief that we UU’s have no morality… when in reality I have found that few people carry a heavier moral burden than the Unitarian Universalist. Even among UU’s I have heard it … Read more →
Sermon “Let Us Dare” by David Pyle
I do not often post my sermons directly to the Blog here at Celestial Lands, but something is moving me to share this one here this morning. Perhaps because I have been so disappointed and depressed over some recent events in American Political History that this sermon, written a year ago, … Read more →
The Myth of a Post-Racial America
When I visited the Smithsonian Museum of American History over the summer, there was one transition between exhibits that disturbed me deeply. It was not the content of either of the exhibits, but rather that one led directly into the other. As I was coming out of the exhibit on … Read more →
It’s Time We Studied War
The few weeks around Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day tend to be heavy preaching for me. In several of the services this year, I was reminded of one of our standard hymns during this time, declaring that we will “Study War No More”. What struck me is that, though it … Read more →
My Visit With the UUA Ministerial Fellowship Committee
You may have noticed Celestial Lands has been abnormally quiet these past few weeks. It has actually been about six weeks since I was last in my regular writing/reflection spiritual practice here at Celestial Lands. That is because six weeks ago I made the decision to move my meeting with … Read more →
Worship Education
As I am finishing a paper for a class, it struck me that it might be useful for me to put another part of that paper on the web. This paper was for a class with Rev. Betty-Jo Middleton on Models in Religious Education. It is a section of the larger … Read more →
Unitarian of the Holy Spirit
It has been said that how we express the chosen faith of our adulthood greatly depends on attitudes and concepts that hold deep meaning for us as children. We often form our adult faiths in rejection of those childhood forms, or we transform them into new and deeper meanings. The … Read more →
The Child Within
As I was flipping through websites, I saw that Peacebang had put some wonderful childhood pictures of another minister up, as a reminder of the real human being underneath clerical garb… and I thought it a wonderful idea. Not just for others to see, but to remind each of us … Read more →
Unitarian Universalists at Arlington National Cemetery
Click on the picture or this link to see the slideshow During my time in Washington DC these past few months, I spent a few days shadowing the chaplains at Arlington National Cemetery. During a break, I went for a walk among some of the markers, and was surprised … Read more →
Article on the UUA Advocacy and Witness Blog
I was honored to be asked by the UUA Advocacy and Witness Staff Group to write a guest article on their blog “Inspired Faith, Effective Action” for the 6 year mark of the War in Iraq. Here is a short bit of the article: One of the most common questions … Read more →
The Danger of Progress as a Source of Meaning
In a conversation with a fellow seminarian who had read my article “Why I’m not a progressive”, it became clear to me that though I laid out the reasons why I call myself a Liberal and not a progressive, I did not highlight what problem I have with the word … Read more →
No More Books, Please!
I am asking for your understanding. Perhaps I am speaking a prophetic voice for Seminarians in and beyond our Liberal Faith. I am writing to all so I can ask for this favor, this boon. Please stop giving me books you think I just have to read… please! I know … Read more →
The Problem with being Lambs
Recently in an email someone said to me that they were still a “lamb of God”, even though they were working through some issues in their faith. As Jacob once did, they have been “wrestling with God”. I remember the metaphor “be ye lambs of God”. I remember those words … Read more →
Galveston Island and Home Church Photos
Many of you know that I am a member of and was a student minister at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Galveston Island, where Hurricane Ike is currently making landfall. Last weekend, I visited Galveston and my home church, on my way to Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio. I … Read more →
Commenting in the Celestial Lands
I remember a conversation one day in the Curtis Room at Meadville Lombard Theological School, where among the students that had gathered were several seminarians who were active UU bloggers, myself included. We were discussing some of our motivations for our regular online writing about our Liberal Faith tradition, about … Read more →