Standing on the Side of Love

I am proud to report that there were at least 10 UUCA folks at the vigil this evening at Pack Place in support of LGBT rights and against the ridiculous idea of a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriages. There are two very wrong things about that. First of course is the singling out of people based on whom they love, but second is the abuse of a constitution.

I'm against the amendment and I'm letting State Sen. Apodaca know it.

Solemnity & Fun

Yesterday was the kind of day where you're glad you belong to a congregation. What a lucky thing that the 10th anniversary of 9-11 landed on a Sunday. That made it perfectly normal to head to church and join MY community to remember the awful day, celebrate the day after (everyone in the world was an American that day--remember?), play and commemorate. If you missed the picnic after church, I'm sorry. It was about the loveliest little thing you can imagine: about 80 folks, just a block N of the church, plenty of shade, a tent and tables set up for those who simply could not bear the thought of eating without a table in front of him/her (I am married to a person like that), games for children and a most amazing sound system to convey the music (congregational singing accompanied by Lenora and led by Nana Hosmer) and the words (Mark led with commentary and stories by David Novak). I'm sure everyone's favorite was the spiral "dance" led by Benette. It was nice to see our full ministry staff (Mark, Lisa, Benette, Lenora) all there, leading and enjoying the event. (Giant thanks to Stan Nachman for this one!) Later in the day, I attended the interfaith Service of Remembrance and Hope at First Baptist Church. It was great to see Lisa Kemper already actively participating in the life of Asheville as she joined a flock of other religious leaders in commemorating 9-11, each in her/his own faith tradition. So we had our UU, the rabbis, the priest, the college chaplain, the witch, the Islamist, the Baptist and the Christian who witnessed her faith by reading relevant quotes of Jesus.... It was beautifully interfaith. And, it was the kick-off event for the Asheville Listening Project, a coalition of individuals from widely-different backgrounds united in the belief that it's time for us to listen to another. "We believe that receptive and respectful listening can help to bridge our divisions and create possibilities to work together for a better community." I'm joining!