What do UUs have to do with the history of Mother's Day?

Unitarian Julia Ward Howe founded Mother's Day in 1870 as a way of activating women to work for peace. It did not take long before the holiday became the commercialized event it is today.

Is Liberal Religion a Saving Faith?

Submitted by Korin Zigler for the Unitarian Universalist Animal Ministry:


The sermon preached May 1 at the UU Church in Philadelphia by the Reverend Nate Walker is entitled "Is Liberal Religion a Saving Faith?"  Nineteen minutes long and full of passion and unapologetic vigor, the sermon insists that we as Unitarian Universalists "must be the ethical agenda-setters of our time" by recognizing that killing animals in order to eat them is unethical.  Reverend Walker encourages us to recognize "the inherent worth and dignity of every BEING," in that revolutionary way that our spiritual forefathers insisted on the recognition that slavery and the oppression of women was unethical, even though their views were wildly unpopular.

Click the embedded YouTube version below, or see the clip on the UUCP site.

An Invitation

CHANGE OF PLANS

We had planned on having a special Worship Service on May 22 with members of Messiah Baptist Church of Brockton as our guests. However, they are now expecting a special guest of their own. Gov. Deval Patrick will be visiting them for a signing of his book

"A Reason to Believe".

The date for their visit in Bridgewater will be rescheduled. Watch for the announcement.

The May 22 service will still be special, but with a different focus. Please join us for the 10:30 a.m. worship.

Run to Home Base

As he mentioned during announcements today, First Parish member Matt Foster will be running in the 2011 Run to Home Base event on Sunday, May 22. The purpose of this 9k run is to raise funds for veterans returning from Afghanistan or Iraq (or both!) with insufficient support for combat stress and/or traumatic brain injury (TMI). The event also helps to increase awareness of the often-hidden sacrifices being made by today's soldiers, whether or not they are officially in combat roles.

Matt is a bit over halfway toward his fund-raising goal. Visit Matt's Fundraiser Page to learn more and perhaps to make a contribution.

We can learn more about the stresses of combat and the sacrifices born by veterans from BSU graduate and former combat medic Michael Anthony, who tells of his experience in Mass Casualties, which is both a book and a blog.

Auction Coffee

Kelly Greenlee's amazing desserts have become a much-anticipated attraction at First Parish's annual service auction, and last night's offerings did not disappoint. In an effort to do some justice to the quality of the desserts, I serve some good coffee.  I promised those present that I would share a little information on the coffees that were offered this time.

The regular coffee was Selva Negra dark roast, from the La Hammonia farm on Selva Negra Coffee Estate, which I have visited during each of my five study tours (so far) in Nicaragua. It is always the most popular coffee at the annual coffee tasting event organized by students in my Secret Life of Coffee class. This coffee is not fair-trade, because Selva Negra is one large estate, rather than a cooperative of small farms. It is, however, recognized by the Rainforest Alliance as a socially and environmentally sustainable farm, and I can certainly vouch for that certification. I know the farm well, including both temporary and permanent worker housing and dining areas. Selva Negra is a leader in sustainability, where a thoroughly integrated approach connects the coffee farm, hotel, food cultivation, energy, and waste streams. During the peak harvest and tourism seasons, many hundreds of people are living on the farm, and almost no waste goes off-site. In addition, a large portion of the farm is set aside as a biosphere reserve known for orchids, birds, and even primates. You can order Selva Negra coffee through its web site or through JavaVino in Atlanta.

The decaf coffee is roasted at Dean's Beans in Orange, Massachusetts, a leader in organic and fair-trade coffee. Dean Cycon was a human-rights lawyer who entered the coffee business specifically as a way to empower coffee farmers he met during his work with Nobel Laureate Rigoberta Menchú. His book Javatrekker is required reading for my coffee students, a fun read, and the best introduction I know of to the need for more justice in the coffee trade. (Menchú's autobiography is also a worthwhile read, focusing on the long civil war in Guatemala.)

Dean's book includes an entire chapter on the deadly human-rights abuses in the state of Chiapas in far southern Mexico. The decaf coffee we served at the auction comes from the Mut Vitz cooperative in Chiapas, and is decaffeinated through a Swiss-water process that introduces no chemicals. I purchase this coffee frequently, because it is a delicious single-origin coffee that is readily available in both regular and decaf form, so that my coffee students and audiences can make a direct comparison.

I prepared both coffees in high-temperature drip brewers, which are an improvement over typical brewers and a big improvement over percolators. If you purchase these coffees for home use, however, I recommend preparing them with a French press or other small-batch method. See my coffee care page for more preparation tips.

Rotary Breakfast Today

Sorry for the late notice, but here is a nice event taking place before church this morning.

Race: Are We So Different?

Race: Are We So Different? is a temporary exhibit at the Museum of Science in Boston. Pam and I attended yesterday. This engaging and fascinating exhibit is available only through May 15. It is an excellent place to continue the congregational discussions we have been having about race through our First Principles Project and our cooperation with Messiah Baptist Church.

Learn more about the subject from the exhibit's permanent web site, which includes many interactive activities.

Updates from Vernon

As many friends at First Parish know, member and geographer Vernon Domingo is currently on sabbatical in Malaysia, where his work is focused on alternatives to the privatization of water. In Malaysia itself and elsewhere in the "neighborhood" of Southeast Asia, Vernon is learning a lot about the cultural landscape. Most recently he shared photographs from an excursion to the Mekong Delta area of Vietnam, which I posted on the BSU geography department blog. Vernon is also posting occasional updates on the blog of the Massachusetts Geographic Alliance.

EarthView at BSU for Earth Day

Many First Parish members have seen EarthView in our sanctuary as part of our annual Peace Vigil, but in that setting it is on top of the pews, and nobody can enter. For those who would like to see it in its "natural habitat," it will be on display in the Burnell School Gym at BSU for Earth Day. 

Come by between 1 and 3 pm on Friday April 22, when EarthView Wrangler and BSU geography student Natalie Regan will be making it available to the entire community. Ironically, First Parish members Vernon Domingo and James Hayes-Bohanan, who coordinate the EarthView program, will not be available, but we will leave it in Natalie's capable hands. (By the way, the BSU geography graduate and teacher-in-training shown above is Katharine Hill, not Natalie.)

MBB at AFA

Over the past few years, First Parish has enjoyed increasing involvement with the Bridgewater State University (erstwhile College). The connections have included several years of hosting a dinner with the GLBTA Pride Center, participation in the World Music Festival, and cooperation between the First Parish Social Justice Committee and the BSU Social Justice League on a number of projects.

For the second year in a row, the SJL has invited First Parish's own Male Bonding Band to share some tunes as part of the annual Arts for Advocacy event. Once again, it was a great pleasure to participate in a multi-media, intergenerational celebration of social activism. On Wednesday evening, March 30, the Bonders contributed some Pete Seeger, Woodie Guthrie, and Carter Family -- and a wonderful original piece by Joe Snyders -- to of an impressive line-up of musicians and poets sharing messages of hope, passion, and introspection.