We are pleased to share Issue #8 of the Liberal Beacon.
This issue features 4 feature articles, a tribute to Rev. Dr. Finley Campbell and a list of upcoming NAUA activities.
We hope you enjoy this issue and share it with a friend or leave a comment!
We wish you all of the best for the New Year with hope that it brings needed peace in our country, communities and in the world.
The PDF Issue can be downloaded here.
In times of unrest and disagreement it is comforting to know that these times are not unique. We have been challenged by different understanding and goals of our religious organizations in the past and in the present.
In this NAUA Academy video, Kevin McCulloch, details the transcendentalist critique of historical Christianity that created a rift in the Unitarian church. Although the National Conference of Unitarian Churches was founded in 1865, it took nearly 30 years for the conference participants to reach consensus on a statement that defined what it meant to be a Unitarian.
The recent events in Palestine/Israel and in the Ukraine gives us shocking awareness of the need for peace making. These type of long lived national and tribal warfare are an all too familiar component of our human history. However, we know from experiences in Bosnia, South Africa, Peru and elsewhere that long standing grievances and wars can be resolved.
This 12 minute episode from CBC News features interviews with professionals peace makers as well as leading politicians who have led their countries out of very long standing grievances and wars.
The video is an adaptation of the 60 minute from the CBC Ideas podcast Inventing Peace.
In this video Rev Dr. Todd Eklof reflections on the first year of the NAUA operation, the programs it is offers and the hope we have for Liberal Religion. He also shares his best wishes to each of you during this holiday season and beyond.
A recording of the Nov. 2023 NAUA Academy Session is now available.
“We accept all Religions as Truth” are the words spoken by Swami Vivekananda at the founding of the Parliament of the World’s Religions in 1893 in Chicago. Our speaker is Bruce Knotts, a Trustee of the Parliament of the World’s Religions.
Bruce discusses the founding and history of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, as well as its Mission to create and cultivate harmony among the world’s religious and spiritual communities, foster their engagement with the world and its guiding institutions in order to achieve a just, peaceful and sustainable world. This same sentiment is reflected in the 6th Principle of Unitarian Universalism, ”the goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all”.
The link from this page is to the recording of a recent service at UUSpokane. This regular service is not an NAUA event, but given the need in the NAUA and all distributed organizations to create and sustain online communities, I hope it will be of interest. I also am at risk of “blowing my own horn” in that I (Terry Anderson) was the speaker.
The talk is entitled Online and Offline Community – Building Effective, Sustainable and Enjoyable Religious Communities. I overview the ways that religious communities are using the internet to support a variety of personal and ritualized interaction designed to support and build community.
The service recording is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4aSlnYt5tY The talk begins at approx. minute 28 of this recording.