This was posted on a UU Facebook page I follow (I Am UU) and I thought that while the piece and the subsequent discussion are UU, the issue of how to be a missional church in a theological diverse environment is one that the UCCan may increasingly confront. Not expecting much discussion on this, but thought it might be enlightening to some of you.

http://peterboullata.com/2011/12/29/the-liberal-church-finding-its-missi...

Mendalla

That was the title of today’s sermon in my UU fellowship. And the question is an interesting one. I am not entirely sure it is the “most important THEOLOGICAL question” so much as important in any area of human thought and endeavour. The minister did preface it by reviewing a broad history of theology, esp. the Christian theologies that led into modern UUism (ie. Unitarianism and Universalism). The text is Charles Schulz’s Peanuts.

Earth is planning a colony on Mars. The people chosen will not come back. Someone who is being vetted in Saskatoon is married with a young son. One married couple, the man is being vetted but the wife didn't make it.

These people will start a new colony with a new order. Will there be religion, do you think?

The people chosen are suppose to be healthy, physically fit, the best we on earth can offer?

Just found out that Ian Barbour died on Christmas Eve. I encountered his writing in a course on Science and Religion that I took at St. Paul's College, the United Church affiliate college at University of Waterloo. I think it was Science and Religion (1968) but might have been the earlier (1966) Issues in Science and Religion. I forget the prof's name, but it was also the course where I first ran into process theology. It definitely shaped my thinking on the relationship between science and religion for a time, though perhaps not so much today.

I am doing a UU service on Mystery (exact title TBD) early next year. I have my own thoughts on Mystery and its spiritual importance, but I wonder what others think.

What do we mean by Mystery when we talk about it in a spiritual/religious context?

What is the relationship between Mystery and God (as you conceive God)?

What role does Mystery play in your faith/spirituality?

Is invoking Mystery sometimes cop-out to avoid problematic questions/answers about faith?

This is a very sad and troubling story currently underway in the United States.

http://www.transadvocate.com/what-happens-when-pji-is-confronted-by-parents.htm

Please have a look at this article for content and context.

A young transgender student is charged with harassment and other nasty things by a group that claims to represent other students and parents.   It ends up just one...

(Bishop Spong:)

Original sin died in the writings of Charles Darwin. Maybe that is why traditional churches have been so threatened and so frightened by Darwin. Original sin implies an original perfection, from which we have fallen. Darwin makes us aware that there was no original perfection but an evolution of life from single cells to self-conscious complexity.

What sayest thou?

Just saw Life of Pi last night. A freind wouldn't come b/c I guess it was not her cup of tea ... maybe (I suspect) being evangelical. I had no problem with the story... very beautiful, funny and inspirational. Just wondering what others thought of it??? 

We have examined concepts like "God," "religion, and "faith" here on the Café, but we haven't examined "spirituality," at least not recently.

So what is "spirituality" to you? Your personal definition, and/or dictionary definition, and any experiences and feelings that define spirituality for you.

Some scientists have come forward with an amazing declaration ...                                               Life did not begin on earth...as life began before  earth by about a million years!                 On reading about this I sez to myself well, there goes Genesis....