Metacentricities

It’s Sunday morning, and I’m not going to church. I’ve not been to church in weeks and weeks (except a couple of exceptions to see friends preach.) On one hand, I find this curious. I definitely enjoyed going to the church I was going to here in Berkeley, New Spirit Community Church, which I think, actually, is fabulous. I do sometimes go to the Taizé service.

I first stopped going because I needed to break out of that role of “minister in training” (I was “In Care”). And as I continued to not go on Sunday mornings, and as I’ve begun to restructure my own spiritual path around the new realities of my life (how you build a life centered on spirituality as a “householder” as the Buddhists would call it,) going back just didn’t seem like something I wanted to do.

I’ve begun to build in my head what I really want from spiritual community. And as I think about it, I’ve come to realize that it possibly doesn’t exist yet. There are some communities that seem to have come relatively close (Chochmat Halev for one.)

I’ve learned a lot about what I don’t like about some spiritual communities I’ve been a part of. As much as I’ve valued my Christian experiences, I can’t do the dogmatism of fundamentalist Christianity, even as I appreciate their focus on spiritual practice. When it comes to mainline Christianity, I have a hard time embracing the Trinity, and building a life of spiritual practice around it. When it comes to Unitarian Universalism, I don’t want a spirituality stripped of Mystery, and I don’t want to have disagreements about using reverential language before people have really examined their own reactivity to it. I don’t want a community that embraces all but the religious tradition that spawned it. And I have a hard doing social action without deep spiritual meaning. When it comes to Buddhist Sangha, I don’t want a spirituality that is based primarily on meditation practice. (Whine, whine, whine… OK, I’m done.)

I’ve learned a lot from a wide variety of traditions. From Christanity I’ve learned the value of the Book, and that the words and life of Jesus mean something to me. From the peace traditions of Chrisitanity, I’ve learned about the value of a spiritual approach to social action, and non-hierarchichal worship. From Buddhism, I’ve learned about the value of daily spiritual practices that help me connect with the present moment, and use skillful means to bring myself to awareness. From Judaism, I’ve learned about my deep yearning for spiritual practices connected to the week and to the calendar that keep me in touch with God. From Unitarian Universalism, I’ve learned about embracing a wide variety of traditions, and using reason. From the mystical traditions of all religions, I’ve learned about the underlying deep mysteries of existence that I want to explore. I’ve learned from Shamanism that there is wisdom inside me, and around me that I can tap to understand myself and the world. I’ve also learned, along the way, that it’s really hard to separate the psychological and the spiritual - that they need to be incorporated together in one’s spiritual path.

So all this combines to …

… a spiritual community that is panentheistic, but theologically very flexible and diverse - a community of mystics. A community that is deeply committed to, and creative and experimental in, spiritual practice and ritual. A community that has people willing to explore their own points of view, issues, and perspectives as they explore the Divine. A community that is engaged in thoughtful and prayerful social action. A community that is anti-oppresion, but also deeply thoughtful about what that means, and the ways we contribute to our own oppression, and the oppression of others. A community where everyone is both a leader, and a follower. A community that is committed to embracing the web of life.

I know that there is more, and that this will develop over time. But that’s what I’ve come to so far.

Technorati Tags: community, faith, religion

It’s kinda funny that I was musing about this - I found out today that Bill Sinkford, President of the UUA, and John Thomas, president of the UCC are going to have a conversation that

will reflect on the historical affinities and divisions between their
denominations, and then go on to explore current realities and future
possibilities. This exchange is of interest to clergy and congregants
in both denominations because, despite theological differences and the
historical controversy that led to their split, in recent years there
has been a growing solidarity of the two groups. On a number of issues
of progressive religious conviction and social justice the two share
common perspectives, and in some communities there are some churches
that have become aligned with both denominations.

That sounds pretty interesting. I know someone here at PSR who is going, so I’m looking forward to hearing what happens. Maybe they’ll post the audio. There’s an interesting discussion over on Philocrite’s blog, and he doesn’t think that anything like a merger is going to be discussed.

I read Scott Well’s blog, Boy in the Bands, before I get to Shawn Anthony’s LoFi Tribe, so I heard about Shawn’s move off of the UU path from Scott. Shawn has left the UU ministerial formation path because of his Christian faith. He left for a very different set of reasons than I did, but he left, nonetheless. Scott is on his way as well. This is, of course, nothing new. It’s just yet another in a fairly long series of them. (And it certainly feels like the ranks of UU bloggers are decreasing - but I expect that more will be taking the place of those of us that have left.)

I haven’t thought much about this lately, but I’m beginning to find this fascinating. Why is it that a religious movement that unarguably was Christian not so long ago is a tradition that is, in some senses, hospitable to all religious traditions except the one that spawned it?

Yes, I know, there are still some Christian UU churches, but how long will that last, now that Christian UUs have an easy out in the UCC? This seems like bleeding that won’t stop.

Anyway, best of luck to you, Shawn and Scott, on your paths.

I went out and got the book today. I wasn’t about to sit waiting for it last night, I figured today was soon enough. What book is it? Yes, of course, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. As if you haven’t heard enough about it yet. I’ve read about 10 pages so far, and am looking forward to a quiet evening with it.

I’ve been surprised, in my blog perusal today, how many UUs mention Harry Potter. Philocrites seems to think we love Harry. I’d agree. Chalice Chick has dedicated quite a number of blog posts to individual chapters (I think there might be spoilers, I can’t tell). I won’t go so far, I promise. Scott Jones hasn’t gotten his copy yet (thumbs down for Amazon pre-ordering.) Daniel Harper runs into an interesting crowd waiting for Harry Potter books.

The annual halloween party at my UU has had a Hogwarts theme for a couple of years now. Woo Hoo!

But of course, there are dissenting voices about Harry. Our "friends" at Chick have the real scoop on Harry!

Many UU bloggers are talking about the racial incidents at GA. Philocrites, RadicalHapa and others link to the letter from the UUA board. ChaliceChick wonders if we are being too sensitive (here’s my take on that issue.) First off, I was 2000+ miles away, so I am not even going to begin to comment on what happened. But as I was reading the varied blog entries about this issue, I noticed this real feeling of aversion. And thinking about it kept me awake (in case you are wondering, it’s 2:00 in the morning.) For Buddhists, aversion is an important thing to observe and understand, because aversion is a cause of suffering.

So I decided to examine my aversion to talking about racism, and talk about it here. I have to admit, in my life, I’ve pretty much done what I can to avoid being involved in talking about racism (not always sucessfully.) And here’s why:

1) It’s boring. Really, really boring. It’s such a normal, regular, and predictable part of life. All of our responses to it are canned, and ready to come out when the need arises. And, just like the energizer bunny, just keeps on going and going…

2) It’s not my job. Making it the job of people of color to identify and deal with issues of racism is, bluntly, racist. Racist incidents happen. People of color bring it to light. Consternation and self-analysis ensue. Meetings happen, reports are written. People feel better. Things quiet down. People forget. Racist incidents happen. Rinse, lather, repeat: the cycle continues in this fashion. There is no question that there are some white individuals who are aware, responsive and on the ball, and pushing an anti-racist agenda. It’s just that far too often it’s up to us to raise the issue, and that’s just not fair. I don’t know whether the incidents that occurred at GA would have made it to the UUA board if it hadn’t been raised by the youth of color. Perhaps, but I’m not sure. (The reference in the letter from the board to these incidents as a "wake up call" was, frankly, alarming to me. Isn’t the UUA, as the anti-racist organization it proports to be, already awake to racism?)

And here’s the hardest one, the real source of the aversion:

3) It messes with my sense of self. I hate being reminded that sometimes people’s perceptions of me are affected by the fact that I’m African-American. I just want to be Michelle (or Pearlbear depending on my mood.) That pretty complicated, multi-faceted person.  Yes, being African-American is an essential core part of my being, but I don’t like to be reminded that for some people, that’s all of who I am.

I just found out that GA will have streaming video of the main events. It doesn’t replace being there, but it will be nice to at least be able to see something.

So this is my first year going to GA. There is some great stuff happening, and I am totally excited. Getting to meet folks I’ve only ‘met’ in cyberspace, like UU Bloggers and folks on various email lists I’m on. And there are a number of gatherings I’m excited about. Apparently, there is a PSR alumns and seminarians gathering, there is going to be a "gathering of clergy, seminarians, and lay women of
Color/Latinas". There will be a UUBF (Unitarian Universalist Buddhist Fellowship) gathering, etc. I haven’t gotten my program yet, and I feel like the day I go ahead and print it all out on the printer is the day it will come in the mail.

And, one thing I’m also really looking forward to is hearing Elaine Pagels speak. I’ve been immersed in her books lately, and have really enjoyed her perspectives and points of view.

I have to admit that I’m less than excited to spend the time in Texas, but I guess it will be fun to see what the people of Fort Worth do with lots of UUs around. And I hate (hate hate hate) the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport. But at least I won’t be flying through it. (Instead, I get to fly through Atlanta. Sigh.)