This week I was able to travel to Fort Benning Georgia to commission our son Taylor as a 2^nd Lt in the US Army.  It doesn’t seem like that long ago I pinned on my butter bars, and now my son is doing the same thing.  Just one more event to make me feel my age.  Taylor will be going into artillery for two years, then into finance.  In two more months our younger son, Ryan, will finish Marine boot camp.  All too soon Afghanistan will be playing a big part in my life again, this time as I wonder if my boys will end up there, and how the war will affect them. 

Me, Taylor, and his fiancée Yvette

    I’ve begun the second semester of school, and am happy to report I only have one take-home test between the two classes.  This time grades are based on papers and projects, as well as participation in class discussions.  I’m already enjoying it much more.  The classes are all afternoon classes, which makes finding a parking place much more challenging.

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    And finally, a portion of my last sermon for your enjoyment:

    Through the miracle of Facebook, I recently reconnected with a very good friend from high school.  We had both made significant journeys in our spiritual lives.  Greg (not his real name) was a Pentecostal in high school; I was in an independent Bible church.  I last spoke to him about seven years ago, and he was wrestling with many Christian teachings; I was an agnostic at the time, and shared with him why I was no longer a Christian.  Our contact was brief, and again we lost touch.  Perhaps I scared him off.

    During the holidays Greg contacted me through Facebook, and soon we had spent many hours talking theology on the phone.  He was delighted that I was going to Vanderbilt.  He had recently graduated from another well-known and well-respected seminary, and was pasturing a church in a large, mainline denomination.  We discussed our views on many topics, and found we were not very far apart.

    Greg no longer believes that Christianity is the exclusive truth or the exclusive way to God.  While I remain a firm agnostic, I am always exploring what a deity or deities may be like.  I suggested that Jesus, assuming he was indeed still alive in heaven, whether God or not, would be pleased by anyone seeking to know the truth.  I believe my words were, “Jesus smiles when anyone worships earnestly, regardless of their religion.”  Greg agreed.

    After more discussion, I invited Greg to visit and speak at our church.  Although he wanted to reciprocate, he would need to get permission from higher-ups, since I wasn’t ordained through their denomination.  I could, however, come and speak at Sunday School or other educational functions.  Hopefully one day I can do just that.

    Since he was now on the hook to come and visit, he asked what a worship service was like.  I mentioned that a service could take many forms, and it might be lead by an atheist one week, a Christian the next, and a pagan the next.  Would he be comfortable with that?

    “That depends on what you mean by ‘pagan’,” he replied. “I don’t know about worshipping with a druid…”

    I interrupted. “Well, we do have a druid, and several Wiccans.”

    He paused. “I don’t know if I could do that.”  Understand that Greg is about the nicest guy you could hope to meet.  He is thoughtful, kind, and there wasn’t any nastiness in his voice as he said this, just concern.

    “Well, then you don’t really mean what you said earlier.  Why is it OK to worship with a Jew or a Muslim, but not a Druid or a Wiccan?  Their worship is just as sincere as anyone else’s.  I think you may be letting caricatures lead you astray.  Wiccans don’t worship Satan or seek to harm others with spells.  They seek truth and meaning, just like everyone else.”

    Greg spoke slowly. “Doug, you have brought up a very good point.  You’ve made me look at this differently.”  

    As I said, Greg is a very thoughtful person.  Having these conversations with him have been a true joy. And this illustrates to me what Unitarian Universalism has to offer to this world.  We don’t need to proselytize or convert people, we simply need to have open and honest conversations.  I feel no need to convert Greg, to help him see the light and become a UU.  What I can do is share what we believe, and in doing so build bridges to people in other religions, other churches, other philosophies, and build community.  There’s that word again, “community.”  That’s what it’s all about.  If God, Jesus, Allah, Buddha, Krishna, Gaia, or any other name for the divine is watching, I am firmly convinced that this interaction of two people seeking to know deeper truths, even while acknowledging our utter inability to understand so much, this friendship and honest and open sharing, is most pleasing to Him, Her, It, or Them.