“Pagan and Earth Centered Voices in Unitarian Universalism”
Book Group
Session 5
Check In
Chalice Lighting
“In the light of truth,�and in the warmth of love, �we gather to seek, �to sustain, and to share.”
Class Covenant
For students to enjoy and feel safe participating in class, this is how we agree to be together:
Students who take away from the learning environment by breaking covenant will be removed from the Zoom classroom or asked to leave the in-person gathering.
“Drumbeats in the Sanctuary”�
by Carole Etzler Eagleheart pg 181
Prompts
1) “In the past there was a gentle joke that Unitarian Universalists were heady people – walking heads without bodies. There was such focus on the mind that it was as if the body did not exist. “ What are the people in your congregation like?
2) “This was not just about changing God-language so it was no longer masculine. That was only the beginning; it was about opening Unitarian Universalists to an image of the Divine that was not just somewhere out in the universe but imminent – Earthly and real.” What work has your church done to be more inclusive in language and not just “God-language?” At your church, what do various UUs believe? What is the divine like for you / them?
Prompts
3) Carolyn McDade and Lucille Shuck Longview helped create water communion, which many UU churches celebrate. What are the big highlight worship services at your church? Why do they move you?
4) Do you drum at your church? What other things does your church do to create a more embodied worship experience?
5) One of the stated purposes of CUUPs is “encouraging greater use of music, dance, visual arts, poetry, story, and creative ritual in Unitarian Universalist worship and celebration.” How could you see your church being inspired by this? What sorts of things could worship explore more?
“Earth Song: Pagan Chant in UU Churches�
by Nancy Vedder-Schults pg 201
Prompts
1) Do people enjoy chanting or singing in UU worship at your church? What about in UU Pagan worship?
2) “Chanting reconnects us with our bodies in healthy, meditative ways that puts us in a state of spiritual receptivity.” Have you ever experienced a meditative or altered state while chanting? What was it like?
3) “Pagan chant differs from other chanting practices mainly in terms of what it celebrates and advocates: a "greening” of religion that names the Earth as sacred.” How do you express “Earth is sacred?” How about your UU church? How does the “greening of religion” manifest at your church?
Prompts
4) “Unitarian Universalist aloofness towards activities that create unity at the physiological level weakens our movement and keeps us cut off from members of other liberal faiths. For example, if chant were one of our practices, African Americans who come from a gospel tradition that includes a strong focus on movement and song might more readily become our allies and collaborators.”
What do you think of the author’s suggestion that this aloofness prevents us from making community connections? Do you find this aloofness is present at your church? If so, what would you do to change it? If not, what is your church doing? �
Prompts
5) “By singing Pagan chants we can leave behind the stigma of "God's Frozen people" and begin to integrate body and soul, spirit and rationality, and become the vibrant, liberal religious movement that our country needs.”
What are your spiritual practices that help you integrate body and soul? What practices does your church do to help congregants integrate this?
Check Out
Chalice Extinguishing
“We extinguish this flame, but not the light of truth, the warmth of community, or the fire of commitment.
These we carry in our hearts until we are together again.”
Next Time
Next time we read…
“Pagan Depth in Unitarian Universalism” �by John Becket pg 39
and
“Welcoming the Gods Into Our Congregations” �by Sue Nading pg 111