West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church in Rocky River will be holding a service of Solidarity for the people of Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church and West Side Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, at 7:30 this evening. All are welcome to attend. West Shore’s address is:

20401 Hilliard Blvd
Rocky River, OH 44116

I just sent out the following e-mail to members of my congregation in response to the recent incident in Knoxville:

Dear Friends:

I am sure that by now many of you have heard about the tragedy that struck the Tennessee Valley UU Congregation Sunday morning. In case you haven’t heard the news, there was a shooting by by a man unknown to the congregation during the community’s youth’s their summer musical. Six people were sent to the hospital with gunshot wounds, and a seventh with an ankle injury sustained while trying to get away. At least two people have died as a result of their wounds. One was a member of the nearby Westside Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. Unconfirmed stories say that one of the victims intentionally stepped in front of the gunman to protect others. Another woman stood ready to block the entry to their quiet room so that the gunman would not be able to get to parents with small children.

This incident is both saddening and disquieting. If there is one place in our society that should be free from violence it is the sanctuary of a religious community. As I write this staff from the Unitarian Universalist Association, including UUA President Bill Sinkford, are on site with members of the UU Trauma Response Ministry responding to the incident and doing their best to provide support and resources to the congregations and their members. Already other religious communities are stepping up to offer assistance, and a nearby UU congregation held a vigil this afternoon.

News of this incident will most likely be on news programs, and your children may hear about it.  Because this happened in a UU congregation, they may wonder if they will be safe at the Society. This kind of anxiety is common, and open and honest communication is always the best. The UU Trauma Response Ministry web-site has some resources on responding to children in these situations (http://www.traumaministry.org/resources.htm). You might also want to have your children draw pictures or make cards to send to the children of TVUUC and Westside–knowing that others are thinking of them is important at this time.

I will send another email out later this week as we know more about this tragedy, and as the needs of the congregations become more clear. The impulse to respond is deep in us all, but I urge you NOT to do a couple of things: do NOT call the congregations; do NOT email the congregations. These well-meaning responses can often mean that the congregations are diverted to handling increased calls and emails from doing what they need at this time. If feel you that you would like to send the congregation a message you may post one on a web-site that the UUA has set-up to gather support http://knoxvillesupport.blogspot.com/ There will also be cards to send to members of both congregations at the service on Sunday. If any donation funds are created, I will let you know.

Thank you, friends, for the prayers and best wishes I know are sending out to our co-religionists in Knoxville. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss this with
me. At a time like this I always available to you, even though I may be in Boston.

love,

Colin
 

In preparation for my trip to Boston to do research for the Tapestry of Faith curriculum on UU social justice I am co-writing I have been digging a bit into the Society’s archives. This afternoon I made an interesting discovery. Apparently Martin Luther King, Jr. was supposed to preach Farley Wheelwright’s installation sermon on April 21, 1968. There is a letter from Dr. King’s secretary confirming the date. I plan on doing some more digging when I get back from my trip. I wonder what else I will find…

There’s a fantastic event scheduled at the Society this coming Sunday evening at 7:00 p.m.. It is a film about the longtime labor militant Julius Margolin, who at age 91 is still making good trouble. Julius himself will be on hand to sing songs and tell stories with his performing partner (and the film’s producer) George Mann. Julius is one of those heroes of the labor movement whom anyone who works for wages and has some minimal level of dignity at his or her job owes a lot. A biography from the film’s promo materials reads:

Julius Margolin, at 91, is a living legend in the New York City labor movement. He’s been active since the 1930s in the CIO, the National Maritime Union and Local 52 of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees, which he has represented in the NYC Central Labor Council for 34 years. A tireless fighter for justice, equality, and against war, Julius embarked on a new career in 1999, making music and CDs with George Mann while still hitting picket lines and organizing workers in New York and around the United States.

I wish I could go but I will be out of town on a research trip to Cambridge, Mass. The program conflicts with the Society’s annual flower communion vespers which is also a bummer. Nonetheless, it looks fantastic and is probably a once in lifetime chance to meet a living legend. You can find out more about the event here and learn more about Julius here. Their song "We Are the Working Class" got a little radio play on KPFA back when I lived in the Bay Area. I think it’s quite lovely.

CASA, the human rights and indigenous solidarity organization I co-founded, turned five this past May. I got this fundraising letter from them yesterday. Take a look and if you can contribute:

Dear Friends of the CASA Collectives
 
Five years ago this past May, CASA opened our first office in Chiapas, Mexico.  We were inspired by the struggle for autonomy, democracy and justice underway in Chiapas, and wanted to build relationships and share experience between activists across borders and movements.  Five years later, we have offices in Oaxaca and Chiapas, and collective members from the US, Latin America and Europe.  Our partner organizations have come to depend on us for competent, passionate, and talented volunteers, who can collaborate on everything from documentary film, bike repair, midwifery, and art, and our alumni have returned home, changed by their experiences.
 
Today along with the many projects of our individual volunteers, CASA Chapulin is publishing Teaching Rebellion: Stories from the Grassroots Social Movement in Oaxaca a book about the movement for justice in Oaxaca, which will be available in the US in August, and CASA de la Paz members are involved in popular education workshops in Zapatista communities and supporting political prisoners in the state of Chiapas.
 
Over the last five years I’ve been challenged, inspired, and moved by the work of CASA and the incredible individuals involved in the CASA Collectives.  I am so proud of everything that we have built together.  None of this work would have been possible without the generous support of individuals like you.  
 
I hope you will join me today and make a tax-deductible donation to the CASA Collectives.  A gift of $25, $50, or $100 would help ensure that our work continues for years to come.
 
You can donate online here: http://casacollective.org/en/contribute
 
Or donate by check:
 
Make checks out to ‘The Faithful Fools’. Write ‘CASA’ in the memo line, and mail to: CASA c/o Faithful Fools 230/234 Hyde St. San Francisco, CA 94102
 
Thank you so much for your support!
 
In Solidarity,
 
Rachel Wallis
CASA Board of Directors

P.S. Would you consider becoming a monthly sustainer? By setting up an automatic monthly donation of $10 or $20, you provide CASA with a reliable source of income that makes our work even more flexible and responsive.  You can set up your monthly donation by clicking the donate now button at http://casacollective.org/en/contribute

During her theme talks at Summer Institute Meg sang a number of songs and taught us some simple chants, meditations and prayers. One of my favorites was to sing the words

"You might be
One last spark
We all need
To light the whole world"

Four times in a row. The first time you do it think of yourself. The second time you do it think of someone you love. The third time you do it think of someone you are indifferent to. The fourth time, think of someone you dislike or are having a conflict with. Do it enough times and you might just be able to shift the way you think about people.

 

I just got back from the Ohio Meadville District’s Summer Institute where I was the morning worship leader. It was a great experience and the family and I had a lovely time. One of the highlights was this year’s theme speaker, Meg Barnhouse. Meg is a Unitarian Universalist minister, song writer, radio commentator and performer. We liked her enough to buy one of her CDs and we were particularly taken by her song "All Will Be Well." If you haven’t heard Meg before you should check out her site here.

The latest issue of Cross Currents has an essay by Gary Dorrien in which he analyzes Cornell West’s thinking. Dorrien and West are two of my favorite contemporary theologians and I am looking forward to reading the article. Once I have read it I will post a few thoughts in response.

Here is the last painting from my brother Jorin’s current show. It is called Judas Repenting, Returning the Pieces of Silver. It is, as I am sure many of you can guess, a likeness of me.

There’s an interesting article in today’s New York Times about the origin of the idea of the resurrection of the messiah. It discusses the work of some scholars who think that "the story of [Jesus’s] death and resurrection was not unique but part of a recognized Jewish tradition at the time." The article focuses on the theories of Israel Knohl, professor at Hebrew University and the discovery of a stone tablet from before the birth of Jesus that appears to describe another messianic figure who is expected to rise from the dead in three days.

Knohl thinks that "the idea of a suffering messiah" existed before Jesus and that Jesus and his followers were acting out a theological narrative that was common in 1st century Judaism. According to the article the death of the messiah was supposed to bring about the renewal of Israel. Here’s a quote from towards the end article:

"His mission is that he has to be put to death by the Romans to suffer so his blood will be the sign for redemption to come,” Mr. Knohl said. “This is the sign of the son of Joseph. This is the conscious view of Jesus himself. This gives the Last Supper an absolutely different meaning. To shed blood is not for the sins of people but to bring redemption to Israel.”

Knohl’s theories probably wouldn’t be taken that seriously if it was not for the existence of a stone tablet that details the slaying of Simon, a 1st century BCE Jewish commander, and the suggestion that as a result of his death: "In three days you will know that evil will be defeated by justice." The you is the Herrodians.

Personally, I am not quite certain what to make of the article and some of the ideas being put forth by the scholars it mentions. I tend to think that much of what is taken for the story of Jesus and the thinking of his followers is a composite of earlier pagan and Jewish thought tempered by the turbulent times that they lived in. That said, this is certainly a development in the study of early Christanity worth following. I imagine it might all find its way into a sermon or two at some point.