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	<title>Lori's Lincoln (b)Log</title>
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	<pubDate>Tue, 10 Apr 2007 04:22:44 +0000</pubDate>
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		<title>Angus McLean</title>
		<link>http://uulori.wordpress.com/2007/04/10/angus-mclean/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 10 Apr 2007 04:19:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lori</dc:creator>
		
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		<description><![CDATA[As I had information in my April 16 Newsletter Column about Angus McLean, I thought I&#8217;d give you a very brief overview of who he is.  Angus grew up in Nova Scotia in a strict Presbyterian family, became a minister, and preached for awhile on the Canadian prairies.  He left the Presbyterian ministry to become [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class='snap_preview'><br /><p style="text-align:justify;margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">As I had information in my April 16 Newsletter Column about Angus McLean, I thought I&#8217;d give you a very brief overview of who he is.  Angus grew up in Nova Scotia in a strict Presbyterian family, became a minister, and preached for awhile on the Canadian prairies.<span>  </span>He left the Presbyterian ministry to become a Universalist minister after hearing a lecture by a proponent on the theory of evolution.<span>  </span>Even though he gave up the religious ideals of his childhood, he never gave up the values he grew up with such as courage, honesty, and love, that he learned from his parents.<span>  </span>This attitude of the importance of the home, and his love of nature, were constant themes in his teaching when he became Dean of the Universalist Theological School at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York.  </font><font face="Times New Roman">Here is an excerpt of an article he wrote in 1960 for the <em>Universalist Leader:</em></font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;margin:0;" class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">For so many years we have regarded the home as the greatest educational institution in our society.<span>  </span>It is curious, therefore, that many of us tend to act as though the</font><font face="Times New Roman"> Church School could care for the spiritual nurture of children . . . </font><font face="Times New Roman">I began my work in Religious Education with the conviction and the hope that the home is the central and most important agent in the spiritual nurture of the young.<span>  </span>I have no reason to alter or change my mind in the light of findings of psychiatric and character researchers since that day.<span>  </span>I have long since contended – and still do – that even if the home education is excellent, the child still needs the church school experience.<span>  </span>If the home education is good, the church effort can be effective.<span>  </span>If the values nurtured in the home are in conflict with what we attempt to communicate in the church school, the home values will win out . . . It is really not accurate [though] to say that the home, as such, is the best educational institution in the world; it is both the best and the worst.<span>  </span>In other words, I think that the truth is that the home is the most powerful influence in a child’s life.<span>  </span>If its values, its attitudes, its patterns of behavior and interests, and it loyalties are healthy and good, they will take hold.<span>  </span>If they are not, they will also take hold . . . . .</font></p>
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		<title>My April 16 Newsletter Column</title>
		<link>http://uulori.wordpress.com/2007/04/10/my-april-16-newsletter-column/</link>
		<comments>http://uulori.wordpress.com/2007/04/10/my-april-16-newsletter-column/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 10 Apr 2007 03:28:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lori</dc:creator>
		
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		<description><![CDATA[Last week I was preparing materials for our second and third grade Sunday School class.  The lesson I was looking at was about Angus McLean.  Who?  Well Angus is one of those Universalists who is well know in religious education circles.  He’s not quite as recognized as Sophia Lyons Fahs, but for those of who [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class='snap_preview'><br /><p><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;color:windowtext;"><a href="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/ship-on-water-chalice.gif" title="ship-on-water-chalice.gif"><img src="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/ship-on-water-chalice.thumbnail.gif" alt="ship-on-water-chalice.gif" /></a>Last week I was preparing materials for our second and third grade Sunday School class.<span>  </span>The lesson I was looking at was about Angus McLean.<span>  </span>Who?<span>  </span>Well Angus is one of those Universalists who is well know in religious education circles.<span>  </span>He’s not quite as recognized as Sophia Lyons Fahs, but for those of who teach the UUA Philosophy of Religious Education Renaissance Module, we know Angus.<span>  </span>Basically, Angus pointed out for us that a child’s most important spiritual teacher is the family.<span>  </span><span> </span></span></font><span style="font-size:11.5pt;color:windowtext;"><font face="Times New Roman">Does this mean I’m out of a job?<span>  </span>Close up shop here in the Religious Growth and Learning program for children?<span>  </span>Well, not quite.<span>  </span>Angus also believed, as do I, that we all need community and connections to make sense of our values and the events in our everyday and global world.<span>   </span>What we teach here can reinforce what values and actions are lived out at home.<span>  </span>We can also offer support to the adults in the family who are the teachers of values, the shapers of personalities, and the tenders of spirits.<span>   </span>There is an old saying – I’ve heard that it’s originated in music circles, psychology circles, art circles, science and math circles, spiritual guidance circles, just about every genre – and it is simply this:<span>  </span>A teacher can not take their students to a higher or greater level than where they are.<span>  </span>I believe that.<span>  </span>And I think that it’s important to pay attention to as we raise and nurture our children.<span>  </span>It is important that as adults we do not stop where we landed when we began our adult life, but that we continue to seek new information and integrate it into our relationships, especially those with our children.</font></span><span style="color:windowtext;"><font face="Times New Roman">We can learn from Angus.<span>  </span>Let’s us, as adults, gather in growth and learning and spirit so we can reflect the highest ideals of the families in this faith community.<span>   </span>Then of course, we need to commit to being here every week for our children so they can observe and integrate the work we do here; as Sunday School teachers, youth advisors, child care workers and committee members, into a life they are crafting, filled with love, spirit and service. </font></span><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">See you in church and on the Web -<span>                            </span>Lori</font></p>
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		<title>Church Bloopers</title>
		<link>http://uulori.wordpress.com/2007/04/03/church-bloopers/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 03 Apr 2007 08:54:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lori</dc:creator>
		
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		<description><![CDATA[Seeing how we’ve just passed April Fools, I thought I’d share some of my favorite “Bulletin Bloopers” with you.    Enjoy!
This being Easter Sunday, we will ask Mrs. Lewis to come forward and lay
an egg on the altar.
Services are at 11:00 and 6:30. Come early if you want a back seat.
The choir invites any one in [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class='snap_preview'><br /><p><font face="Times New Roman">Seeing how we’ve just passed April Fools, I thought I’d share some of my favorite “Bulletin Bloopers” with you.<span>  </span><span>  </span>Enjoy!</font></p>
<p align="center"><span style="color:windowtext;"><font face="Times New Roman">This being Easter Sunday, we will ask Mrs. Lewis to come forward and lay<br />
an egg on the altar.</font></span></p>
<p align="center"><span style="color:windowtext;"></span><span style="color:windowtext;"><font face="Times New Roman">Services are at 11:00 and 6:30. Come early if you want a back seat.</font></span></p>
<p align="center"><span style="color:windowtext;"></span><span style="color:windowtext;"><font face="Times New Roman">The choir invites any one in the congregation who enjoys sinning to join the choir.</font></span></p>
<p align="center"><span style="color:windowtext;"></span><span style="color:windowtext;"><font face="Times New Roman">The outreach committee has enlisted 25 visitors to make calls on people who are not afflicted with any church.</font></span></p>
<p align="center"><span style="color:windowtext;"></span><span style="color:windowtext;"><font face="Times New Roman">The Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B.S. is done.</font></span></p>
<p align="center"><span style="color:windowtext;"></span><span style="color:windowtext;"><font face="Times New Roman">Mr. Bradford was elected and has accepted the office of head deacon. We could not get a better man.</font></span></p>
<p align="center" style="text-align:center;"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="color:windowtext;">Visitors are asked to sing their names at the church entrance.</span><font color="#0000ff"> </font></font></p>
<p align="center"><span style="color:windowtext;"><font face="Times New Roman">Today&#8230;Youth Fellowship Sexuality Course. 8 p. m. Please park in the rear parking lot for this activity.</font></span></p>
<p align="center"><span style="color:windowtext;"></span><span style="color:windowtext;"><font face="Times New Roman">Sunday worship will begin with personal medication.</font></span></p>
<p align="center"><span style="color:windowtext;"></span><span style="color:windowtext;"><font face="Times New Roman">Today’s reading is found in the Gospel According to Luck.<strong><span style="font-weight:normal;"></span></strong></font></span></p>
<p><strong></p>
<p align="center" style="margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">See you in church  -<span>                            </span>Lori</font></p>
<p></strong></p>
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		<title>A Pearl of Great Price</title>
		<link>http://uulori.wordpress.com/2007/04/03/a-pearl-of-great-price/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 03 Apr 2007 08:45:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lori</dc:creator>
		
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		<description><![CDATA[Here&#8217;s my Sermon from Sunday, April 1, 2007, as well as the readings.  Let me know what you think - Lori.
Chalice Lighting 
            Anonymous    by Sydney Carter
The Jesus who 
Keeps saying “I am Jesus,
‘Look at me,
There is no substitute”
Is an imposter.  Do not trust
The Christian cult of 
Personality.  I came 
To turn you on and not
To [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class='snap_preview'><br /><p>Here&#8217;s my Sermon from Sunday, April 1, 2007, as well as the readings.  Let me know what you think - Lori.</p>
<p><strong><font face="Times New Roman">Chalice Lighting</font></strong><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman"><span>            </span><strong><em>Anonymous</em> </strong><span>   </span>by Sydney Carter</font></p>
<p style="margin:0 0 0 1in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">The Jesus who </font></p>
<p style="margin:0 0 0 1in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">Keeps saying “I am Jesus,</font></p>
<p style="margin:0 0 0 1in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">‘Look at me,</font></p>
<p style="margin:0 0 0 1in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">There is no substitute”</font></p>
<p style="margin:0 0 0 1in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">Is an imposter.<span>  </span>Do not trust</font></p>
<p style="margin:0 0 0 1in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">The Christian cult of </font></p>
<p style="margin:0 0 0 1in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">Personality.<span>  </span>I came </font></p>
<p style="margin:0 0 0 1in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">To turn you on and not</font></p>
<p style="margin:0 0 0 1in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">To turn you off,</font></p>
<p style="margin:0 0 0 1in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">To make you free and not</font></p>
<p style="margin:0 0 0 1in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">To tie you up.</font></p>
<p style="margin:0 0 0 1in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">My yoke was easy and</font></p>
<p style="margin:0 0 0 1in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">My burden light</font></p>
<p style="margin:0 0 0 1in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">Until they made </font></p>
<p style="margin:0 0 0 1in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">Salvation copyright, and</font></p>
<p style="margin:0 0 0 1in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">All in the name of Jesus.</font></p>
<p style="margin:0 0 0 1in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">So forget</font></p>
<p style="margin:0 0 0 1in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">My name was ever Jesus,</font></p>
<p style="margin:0 0 0 1in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">From now on </font></p>
<p style="margin:0 0 0 1in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">I am anonymous.</font></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman"><strong>I<em>t Matters What We Believe</em></strong><span>  </span>by Sophia Lyons Fahs</font></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><span><font face="Times New Roman">            </font></span></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">Some beliefs are like walled gardens.<span>  </span>They encourage exclusiveness, and the feeling of being especially privileged.</font></p>
<p><em><em><font face="Times New Roman">Other beliefs are expansive and lead the way into wider and deeper sympathies.</font></em><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></em></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">Some beliefs are like shadows, clouding children’s days with fears of unknown calamities.</font></p>
<p><em><font face="Times New Roman">Other beliefs are like sunshine, blessing children with the warmth of happiness.</font></em><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">Some beliefs are divisive, separating the saved from the unsaved, friends from enemies.</font></p>
<p><em><font face="Times New Roman">Other beliefs are bonds in a world community, where sincere differences beautify the pattern.</font></em><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">Some beliefs are like blinders, shutting off the power to choose one’s own direction.</font></p>
<p><em><font face="Times New Roman">Other beliefs are like gateways opening wide vistas for exploration.</font></em><em><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></em></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">Some beliefs weaken a person’s selfhood.<span>  </span>They blight the growth of resourcefulness.</font></p>
<p><em><font face="Times New Roman">Other beliefs nurture self-confidence and enrich the feeling of personal worth.</font></em><em><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></em></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">Some beliefs are rigid, like the body of death, impotent in a changing world.</font></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman"><em>Other beliefs are pliable, like the young sapling, ever growing with the upward thrust of life</em>.</font></p>
<p><strong></strong></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman"><strong><em>A<br />
Pearl of Great Price –</em></strong> Lori Allen</font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">Today is Palm Sunday.<span>  </span>The beginning of Holy Week for Christian traditions.<span>  </span>It seemed to me this would be a good day to talk about Jesus and his ministry.<span>  </span>Now I know, by virtue of living in our Christian culture, we all know the messages of Jesus’ ministry.<span>  </span>It’s not too controversial, and for the most part, we can all agree to embrace Jesus’ messages:<span>  </span>Love your neighbor as yourself – good.<span>  </span>Do unto others as you would have them do unto you – makes sense.<span>  </span>Whatever ye sow, so shall ye reap – cause and effect.<span>  </span>Help the poor, care for the sick – we all want to do our part here.<span>  </span>Don’t judge other people – good advice; seek the kingdom of heaven within yourself – hmm, not so clear on this one. </font></p>
<p style="text-indent:0.5in;text-align:justify;margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">We may agree on Jesus’ messages, but not the religion that bears his name.<span>  </span>What is it that is so controversial about this religion that many of us do not call ourselves Christians today?<span>  </span>Let me share a parable with you from Tom Harpur’s book “For Christ’s Sake.”<span>  </span>Mr. Harpur is a former Catholic priest who argues that contemporary<br />
America needs a radically new understanding of Jesus’ message.<span>  </span>Here’s the parable, paraphrased a bit:</font></p>
<p style="text-indent:0.5in;text-align:justify;margin:0 0 0 0.5in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">There once was a vast desert, void of all vegetation but the hardiest thorns and briars.<span>  </span>Through the middle of the dessert stretched a rough highway along which all of humanity was making its pilgrimage.<span>  </span>They straggled along footsore and thirsty, tired and frightened by many nameless fears.</font></p>
<p style="text-indent:0.5in;text-align:justify;margin:0 0 0 0.5in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">But at one point along the way a clear spring of running water bubbled up out of a naked rock.<span>  </span>No one knew who first discovered it; that secret has long since been lost.<span>  </span>Yet for countless generations the people journeying along the road stopped to refresh themselves there.<span>  </span>And as they did so, they found to their surprise and delight that the waters not only quenched their thirst, but satisfied deeper needs as well.<span>  </span>Somehow, in drinking at that source they found their minds and bodies healed, their hopes and courage growing strong again. <span> </span>Life became rich with fresh meaning.<span>  </span>They found they could pick up their various burdens and take to the highway with new hearts.<span>  </span>They called the spot “the place of living waters” and the spring itself was called “the water of life.”</font></p>
<p style="text-indent:0.5in;text-align:justify;margin:0 0 0 0.5in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">Now as time went on, certain people began to roll boulders around the spring as monuments of gratitude.<span>  </span>As generations and centuries passed, those monuments became more elaborate and ornate,<span>  </span>arched over by a great fortress-like cathedral and protected by high stone walls. <span> </span>A special caste of men, with special robes and a language all their own, came into being to set rules for preserving the purity of the well.<span>  </span>Access was no longer free to all, and disagreements as to who could drink there, and when, and how, sometimes grew so bitter that wars were fought over the spring.</font></p>
<p style="text-indent:0.5in;text-align:justify;margin:0 0 0 0.5in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">The victors of these wars always put up more monuments in gratitude for winning, and so it was that, as the years rolled by, the spring itself was bricked over and lost from view.<span>  </span>No one remembered when exactly it was done or by whom. The pilgrims complained about the loss, and many were found fainting or even near death on the road.<span>  </span>Those now in charge either mocked their cries or simply ignored them.<span>  </span>Beautiful ceremonies were carried out inside the holy place to celebrate what the well had done for pilgrims many years before, while at the very gates people were dying of thirst.</font></p>
<p style="text-indent:0.5in;text-align:justify;margin:0 0 0 0.5in;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">Eventually other water was piped in, at great expense, from distant places, but it seemed a mere shadow compared to the reality that once had been there for all to enjoy.<span>  </span>And so in the end the vast majority of people who journeyed along that route avoided the now-sacred “place of living waters” and survived in whatever way they could.<span>  </span>Many, when they passed the shrine and recalled the stories they had learned in youth about the hidden spring, were seized with nostalgia and longings too deep to utter.<span>  </span>Other struggled on, embittered by cynical doubt that the healing waters had ever existed at all.<span>  </span>But sometimes on a still night, if you pass the shrine, it is said that you can hear a faint echo of running water miraculously pouring over a rock.</font><a name="_ftnref1" href="http://uulori.wordpress.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/blank.htm#_ftn1" title="_ftnref1"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">[1]</span></span></span></span></a></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman"><span>            </span>I have been one of the pilgrims on the route that passed the shrine, filled with a longing that was too deep to utter.<span>  </span>But I must say, I have always been filled with a longing for an active spiritual life.<span>  </span>When I decided that Christianity didn’t work for me, I kept longing for and seeking the spiritual.<span>  </span></font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman"><span>            </span>When I first heard this parable, I was a daily practitioner of Eknath Easwaran’s Eight Point Meditation program.<span>  </span><span style="color:black;">This method of meditation consists of saying slowly in the mind the words of inspirational passages that express one’s highest ideals.<span>  </span>The passages are chosen from scriptures and mystics of all religions. To everyone, regardless of faith, Eknath recommended beginning with the Prayer of St. Francis: “Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy; O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.”<a name="_ftnref2" href="http://uulori.wordpress.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/blank.htm#_ftn2" title="_ftnref2"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size:12pt;color:black;font-family:'Times New Roman';">[2]</span></span></span></span></a></span></font><span style="color:black;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><span style="color:black;"><span style="color:black;"><font face="Times New Roman"><span>            </span>As an “ex-Christian” I was resistant to using the Prayer of St. Francis for my inspirational passage.<span>  </span>I avoided anything with a Christian context as it gave me a discomfort that I just couldn’t define.<span>  </span>But when I read Tom Harpur’s book and read the parable of the living waters, it made me wonder – what if I were to be one of those people who sat quietly in the dark and listened for the sound of the flowing water?<span>  </span>What if I were to listen to the stories of Jesus’ life and teaching in a new light and reclaim any that might hold meaning and truth for me?<span>  </span>It was a relief for me to stop avoiding any Christian teachings – it made my daily practice of meditation so much easier.<span>  </span>I was able to be open to all sacred texts and stories without holding a bias for anything Christian.<span>   </span>To help you understand, I will share with you the eight points of Eknath’s meditation plan:<span>  </span>The first step is to slowly repeat a whole or part of a sacred text while meditating; Second, repetition of a mantra at random times during the day, and when falling asleep; Next is slowing down, rid yourself of non-essential activities; Fourth, giving one-pointed attention.<span>  </span>This means no multi-tasking; Fifth, training the senses.<span>  </span>This point refers to healthy choices for our body and mind;<span>  </span>Sixth is putting the welfare of others first; Seventh is spiritual community and companionship; and finally, number eight is reading from the scriptures and mystics of all religions and spiritual traditions.</font></span><span style="color:black;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></span><span style="color:black;"><span style="color:black;"><font face="Times New Roman"><span>            </span>In the beginning of Easwaran’s book “Meditation”, and in his meditation workshops, he claims that following this form of meditation will bring more peace and joy into your consciousness, the goal being a higher state of consciousness.<span>  </span>He calls this higher state of consciousness by many different names:<span>  </span>illumination, enlightenment, nirvana, self-realization and entering the kingdom of heaven – within.<span>  </span>Whatever the language, the experience is everywhere the same.<span>  </span>Jesus called it “a pearl of great price.”<span>  </span>Without it, our lives will always be wanting; even if we have to give everything on earth to obtain it, the cost would not be too high to pay.</font><a name="_ftnref3" href="http://uulori.wordpress.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/blank.htm#_ftn3" title="_ftnref3"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size:12pt;color:black;font-family:'Times New Roman';">[3]</span></span></span></span></a></span><span style="color:black;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><span style="color:black;"> </span><span style="color:black;"><font face="Times New Roman"><span>            </span>Let me talk more about number eight, reading from the scriptures and mystics of all religions.<span>  </span>Since we are entering Holy Week in the Christian tradition, I will share some of my reflections from that period of Jesus’ life as recorded in the Christian scriptures.<span>  </span></font></span><span style="color:black;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><span style="color:black;"><span style="color:black;"><font face="Times New Roman"><span>            </span>Today is Palm Sunday – named for the way Jesus was welcomed to<br />
Jerusalem more than 2000 years ago.<span>  </span>His reputation as a fearless activist preceded him, and he was welcomed by the curious and hopeful who spread his path with palm fronds. They thought his words and deeds on his visit to<br />
Jerusalem might shake up the hierarchy that was oppressing the weak and powerless people of that time and place.<span>  </span>He was an early activist, highly critical of the social and political systems of the day.<span>  </span>Yet his words, his deeds and his actions got him in trouble.<span>  </span>So much so, that he was put to death by the political pundits of the day, the Romans, who also crucified thousands of other Jewish troublemakers during their occupation of the ancient<br />
Middle East.<span>  </span></font></span><span style="color:black;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></span></p>
<p></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="color:black;"><span>            </span>I get the crucifixion.<span>  </span>There are stories about other activists who have been assassinated or put to death for their words and deeds.<span>  </span>Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., St. Joan of Arc, and many more famous and infamous souls.<span>  </span>They all had good messages and bad timing.<span>   </span>What I struggle with is the resurrection of Jesus.<span>  </span>The story of Jesus’ resurrection, real or metaphoric, must have greatly affected those who knew him.<span>  </span>As we know the story still affects many people living today.<span>  </span>But why do we only believe it happened once?<span>  </span>Why not with the other great activists of the world who died a violent death?<span>  </span>I came across a short essay by Philip </span>Hallie entitled “An Apology to My Mother.”<span>  </span>It is one of the most well described resurrection stories I have heard.<span>  </span>Written in the form of a letter, Hallie reflects on his mother’s passing which had occurred just nine days earlier.  He writes:</font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;margin:0;" class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;margin:0 0 6pt 27.35pt;" class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><font face="Times New Roman">Your death has done some strange things to your son.  And I feel what it has done more sharply now, here in Connecticut, than I felt it while I was burying you in<br />
Chicago.  One of the things it has done is to make it impossible for me to lie to you anymore.  Before…[you died], I used to say to myself, “She is there, in<br />
Chicago.  She’ll never find out.”…No more.  I once thought that death is only parting, but it is more strange than that.  Now I feel that you were separate from me before you died.  While you were alive you were there, outside of me, there in<br />
Chicago, or there across the table stroking your right eyebrow and dreaming.  I could think my own thoughts, I could plan my own travels, and I could feel my own guilty disdain for your fears. </font></p>
<p style="background:white;line-height:15.6pt;text-align:justify;margin:0 0 0 27pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">But now you are within me as you have never been before.  Now there is nothing you cannot find out about my thoughts.  Sometimes I am like an empty house that is full of your spirit, your fears, and your sense of humor….  It was only your body we buried in that hole on that rainy day in May, your body, which was always separate from me, ever since you gave birth to me.  I feel your soul as I never felt it before you died.  Life parted us, not death.</font><a name="_ftnref4" href="http://uulori.wordpress.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/blank.htm#_ftn4" title="_ftnref4"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">[4]</span></span></span></span></a></p>
<p style="background:white;line-height:15.6pt;text-align:justify;margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman"><span>            </span>This is a resurrection story.<span>  </span>Perhaps this is the feeling that Jesus’ friends and disciples had after his death.<span>  </span>How many times do we hear people tell someone that their loved ones will always live on in memories?<span>  </span>Is that not a resurrection of sorts?<span>  </span>I have to honestly say that I do not believe that Jesus literally rose from the dead, but I do believe in resurrections, even resurrections without death.</font></p>
<p style="background:white;line-height:15.6pt;text-align:justify;margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman"><span>            </span>A few years ago, Rebecca Parker, President of Starr King UU Theological School in<br />
California presented the program for the LREDA conference. That is the annual conference for Liberal Religious Educators.<span>  </span>Ms. Parker is an ordained Methodist minister and in dual fellowship with the Unitarian Universalist Association.<span>  </span>She was speaking that year about UU Philosophy and Theology.<span>  </span>While I have extensive notes on her lectures, and have often referred to them when thinking about or explaining UU Philosophy, it was a personal story she shared that I remember most vividly from that conference.<span>  </span>This story is told in the book “A Proverb of Ashes” which she co-wrote.<span>  </span>Here is and excerpt from her story:</font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;margin:0 0 0 31.5pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">“Everything I most loved had slipped out of my hands.  I felt there was nothing left to hold on to—not my marriage, not my child, not my faith.</font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;margin:0 0 0 31.5pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">I spiraled into grief and self-directed anger.  One night I came to the end of my will to live.  I just wanted the anguish to stop.  It was a cold, clear night.  I lived at the top of a hill above a lake and sometime after midnight I left my house and started walking down the hill.  The water would be cold enough.  I could walk into it, then swim, then let go, sink down into the darkness and go home to God.  The thought was comforting.  I had no second thoughts.  I was set on my course.</font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;margin:0 0 0 31.5pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">At the bottom of the hill, I had only a small grassy rise to cross before I came to the water’s edge.  I crested the familiar rise and began the descent to the welcoming water when I was caught short by a barrier that hadn’t been there before.  It looked like a long line of oddly shaped sawhorses, laid out to the left and to the right, the width of the grassy field.  In the dark, I couldn’t see a way to get around either end, but it looked like I could climb over the middle.  I quickened my pace, impelled by the grief that wouldn’t let go of me.  As I got closer, the dark forms before my eyes seemed to be moving.  I squinted to understand what I was seeing.</font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;margin:0 0 0 31.5pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">The odd bunchy shapes were a line of human beings bundled up in parkas and hats.  The stick shapes weren’t sawhorses.  They were telescopes.  It was the Seattle Astronomy Club.  Before I could make my way through the line, one of them looked up from his eyeglass and, presuming me to be an astronomer, said with enthusiasm, “I’ve got it focused perfectly on Jupiter.  Come, take a look.” </font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;margin:0 0 0 31.5pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">I didn’t want to be rude or give away my reason for being there, so I bent down and looked through the telescope.  There was Jupiter, banded red and glowing!  “Isn’t it great?” he said.  It was great.  Jupiter was beautiful through the telescope.</font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;margin:0 0 0 31.5pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">I couldn’t kill myself in the presence of these people who had gotten up in the middle of a cold night, with their home-built Radio Shack telescopes, to look at the planets and the stars.</font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;margin:0 0 0 31.5pt;" class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;margin:0 0 0 31.5pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">The beauty of the night sky, the dew wet grass at my feet, and the Seattle Astronomy Club kept me in this world.</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">It would be wrong to think of this moment as one in which joy triumphed over despair, good came out of bad, or love of life defeated desire for death.  I did not defeat negative feelings of anguish and despair because I saw something more lovely and good.  My heart was still breaking with grief, but I became able to feel more.  I was able to place that grief within a larger heart, within a wider embrace that could hold sorrow and joy, loss and illumination, death and life.</font><a name="_ftnref5" href="http://uulori.wordpress.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/blank.htm#_ftn5" title="_ftnref5"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">[5]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="color:black;"></span><span style="color:black;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><span style="color:black;"><span style="color:black;"><font face="Times New Roman"><span>            </span>This, to me, is a resurrection story.<span>  </span>Finding a new way to go on when we don’t think it’s possible to go on.<span>   </span>This is a modern story, one we can understand, even possibly relate to.<span>  </span>It inspires us, it reminds us that our lives are sacred and that we can learn from spiritual leaders who are alive today who have been able to articulate and cull their personal experiences and stories into lessons for our lives.<span>  </span>These lessons, the parable of the living water, the letter to a mother, and Rev. Parker’s story; these are culturally relative stories for our lives.<span>  </span></font></span><span style="color:black;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></span><span style="color:black;"><span style="color:black;"><font face="Times New Roman"><span>            </span>Is it possible to find the same meaning and value in the stories and parables of Jesus’ ministry?<span>  </span>I believe it is.<span>  </span>The stories are sometimes hard to integrate into the lives we lead today.<span>  </span>But we can see a pattern.<span>  </span>For as long as history has been recorded, there are stories about people doing the right thing, extraordinary people trying to right social wrongs and lift up all people.<span>  </span>I agree with Jesus and with Eknath Easwaran that we can find the kingdom of heaven within ourselves, that pearl of great price, through spiritual practice.<span>  </span>Or perhaps the pearl of great price is the life we live, conscious of how our actions affect others and the earth we live on.<span>  </span>Perhaps that pearl is what we do when putting other’s needs ahead of our own.<span>  </span>Perhaps we all have a pearl that is unique to us.<span>  </span>Is it your life’s work?<span>  </span>The people you call family?<span>  </span>The stories you share?<span>  </span>Or perhaps it’s your willingness to listen to those who need to be heard?<span>  </span>Could it be the work you do to promote peace in our world?<span>  </span>If you know what your pearl of great price is, hold it close.<span>  </span>If not, seek your pearl of great price.<span>  </span>Look for it in stories from all ages and all traditions.<span>  </span>Live it through your thoughts and deeds.</font></span><span style="color:black;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><span style="color:black;"><span style="color:black;"></span></span></p>
<p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman"><strong><em>It’s in Every One of Us</em></strong><span>  </span>by D. Pomeranz</font></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">It’s in every one of us</font></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">To be wise.</font></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">Find your heart,</font></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">Open up both your eyes.</font></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">We can all know everything</font></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">Without ever knowing why.</font></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">It’s in everyone of us.</font></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman">You and I.</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman"><br />
<hr SIZE="1" width="33%" align="left" /></font></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoFootnoteText"><a name="_ftn1" href="http://uulori.wordpress.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/blank.htm#_ftnref1" title="_ftn1"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">[1]</span></span></span></span></a><font size="2" face="Times New Roman"> Tom Harpur, <em>For Christ’s Sake</em> (Beacon Press, 1987) pp. 2-3</font></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoFootnoteText"><a name="_ftn2" href="http://uulori.wordpress.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/blank.htm#_ftnref2" title="_ftn2"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">[2]</span></span></span></span></a><font size="2" face="Times New Roman"> Eknath Easwaran, Meditation (Nilgiri Press, 1978, 1991) pp. 29-30</font></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoFootnoteText"><a name="_ftn3" href="http://uulori.wordpress.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/blank.htm#_ftnref3" title="_ftn3"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">[3]</span></span></span></span></a><font size="2" face="Times New Roman"> Eknath Easwaran, Meditation (Nilgiri Press, 1978, 1991) pp. 28</font></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoFootnoteText"><a name="_ftn4" href="http://uulori.wordpress.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/blank.htm#_ftnref4" title="_ftn4"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">[4]</span></span></span></span></a><font size="2"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font><span style="font-family:Times;">Philip Hallie, <em>Tales of Good and Evil, Help and Harm </em>(New York:  HarperCollins, 1997), pp. 84-85</span></font></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoFootnoteText"><a name="_ftn5" href="http://uulori.wordpress.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/blank.htm#_ftnref5" title="_ftn5"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">[5]</span></span></span></span></a><font size="2" face="Times New Roman"> Rita Nakashima Brock and Rebecca Ann Parker, <em>Proverbs of Ashes</em><span>  </span>(<br />
Boston: Beacon Press, 2001)</font></p>
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		<title>Reflections</title>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Mar 2007 06:01:34 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[I remember about 10 years ago overhearing a mid level management executive in his 40s talking to his colleagues.  He smugly predicted that their &#8220;generation&#8221; of executives would be the last toget by without becoming computer and internet literate.  He made no effort to even inform himself about what new communications were coming down the pipe [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class='snap_preview'><br /><p><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"><a href="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/chalice-regular.gif" title="chalice-regular.gif"></a><a href="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/ship-on-water-chalice.gif" title="ship-on-water-chalice.gif"><img src="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/ship-on-water-chalice.thumbnail.gif" alt="ship-on-water-chalice.gif" /></a>I remember about 10 years ago overhearing a mid level management executive in his 40s talking to his colleagues.  He smugly predicted that their &#8220;generation&#8221; of executives would be the last toget by without becoming computer and internet literate.  He made no effort to even inform himself about what new communications were coming down the pipe with the computer age, even though his company offered classes and training and free laptops to those who would take the initiative to learn.I am not surprised that he is no longer a mid level executive with a Fortune 500 company.  Did his resistance to learn about and even embrace the computer age cost him his job?  Hard to say.  When companies are downsizing and trying to run cost effective organizations, I&#8217;m sure they must look to a person&#8217;s willingness to keep up with new technologies as well as their skill sets when making the difficult decisions about cutting positions and reorganizing.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">For years, as computers, email, and internet connections have made huge impacts on everyone&#8217;s lives, Unitarian Universalists have been struggling with how to integrate these new technologies into their faith communities.  Not so long ago, it was argued that it was a matter of justice and equality to provide hard copy as well as electronic communications and documents.  People argued that not everyone could afford a computer or had the resources necessary to gain computer skills.  But as time marches on, we find that people are now replacing the phrase &#8220;give me a call&#8221; with &#8220;send me an email.&#8221;  People have access to email and the internet at work, school, public libraries, internet cafes and often, in their homes.  Now, emails are used to send out agendas for committee meetings, send in newsletter submissions, and broadcast announcements.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Do I think that computers will totally replace paper and pen?  No - I hope not.  There is something wonderful about writing a note to a visitor or a thank-you to a volunteer.  And I know that children love receiving a postcard in the mail outlining an upcoming Sunday School class.  I also know that just as with other multimedia genres and public places, we need to supervise and guide our children through computer and internet experiences.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">But, I am embracing this technology.  This year, I even got a MP3 player.  Just as with other areas of my life, I try to live in balance.  </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Balance is not always easy to find in this world of media streaming into our lives 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  When I moved into my current home, I &#8220;had&#8221; to get satellite TV because I was too far from a tower to receive decent signals from local TV stations.  The second week I had the dish, I found myself in a daze at 2 a.m. watching RFD TV.  It was a  show of a polka festival from New Ulm, Minnesota.  Having one time lived in Mankato, Minnesota and indulging in the &#8220;John Deere Bandwagon&#8221; a time or two as a goofy college student, I found myself watching this obscure polka show, thinking I might see someone that I recognized doing the Shoddish.  It was an ah-ha moment for me.  A literal wake-up call to account for the precious time that was slipping through my life.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">I know that it&#8217;s easy to have one of my electronic devices steal my time. So, I make deals with myself.  I&#8217;ll spend as much time surfing the web or watching TV as I spend outdoors, or on an art project, or journaling, or reading a book.   And when I am home, I will not multi-task.  It works for me.  I want to embrace the new world that is knocking at my door, but I want to stay connected to people, nature and my spirit.  </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">These days, I ask people how they like to communicate.  I don&#8217;t spend as much time on the phone as I used to, and I don&#8217;t use as much paper and postage as before.  But the important thing for me is, being present.  Being present on the web, being present by phone or in person.  How would you like to communicate with me?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"><a href="mailto:loriallen@inebraska.com">loriallen@inebraska.com</a>   (402)483-2213 or here, at WordPress.com.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">See you in church -                                                             <em>Lori </em></span></p>
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		<title>Meet My Growing Family</title>
		<link>http://uulori.wordpress.com/2007/03/19/meet-my-growing-family/</link>
		<comments>http://uulori.wordpress.com/2007/03/19/meet-my-growing-family/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Mar 2007 04:59:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lori</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Lori's Family]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Here is a picture of me with my grandson, Victor.  This was taken at his naming ceremony in the Black Hills of SouthDakota.  My daughter, Mallary, met Victor&#8217;s dad, Doc, at The University of South Dakota at Spearfish.          
Dale, my partner, at Victor&#8217;s naming ceremony
                   

My daughter, Mallary and her partner, Doc.  They live and go to [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class='snap_preview'><br /><p><a href="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/th_auntmolly.jpg" title="th_auntmolly.jpg"></a><a href="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/th_dedi-2.jpg" title="th_dedi-2.jpg"></a><a href="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/th_dedi-8.jpg" title="Lori with Grandson, Victor."><img src="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/th_dedi-8.thumbnail.jpg" alt="Lori with Grandson, Victor." /></a>Here is a picture of me with my grandson, Victor.  This was taken at his naming ceremony in the Black Hills of SouthDakota.  My daughter, Mallary, met Victor&#8217;s dad, Doc, at The University of South Dakota at Spearfish.          </p>
<p><a href="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/th_dedi-2.jpg" title="th_dedi-2.jpg"><img src="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/th_dedi-2.thumbnail.jpg" alt="th_dedi-2.jpg" /></a>Dale, my partner, at Victor&#8217;s naming ceremony</p>
<p><a href="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/sling.JPG" title="sling.JPG"><img src="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/sling.thumbnail.JPG" alt="sling.JPG" /></a>                   <a href="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/th_hatwithdad1.jpg" title="th_hatwithdad1.jpg"><img src="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/th_hatwithdad1.thumbnail.jpg" alt="th_hatwithdad1.jpg" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/th_dedi-2.jpg" title="th_dedi-2.jpg"></a><a href="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/th_auntmolly.jpg" title="th_auntmolly.jpg"></a><a href="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/th_hatwithdad1.jpg" title="th_hatwithdad1.jpg"></a></p>
<p>My daughter, Mallary and her partner, Doc.  They live and go to school in Missoula, Montana. </p>
<p><a href="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/th_ianheatherv.jpg" title="th_ianheatherv.jpg"><img src="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/th_ianheatherv.thumbnail.jpg" alt="th_ianheatherv.jpg" /></a>My son, Ian and his partner, high school sweetheart, Heather, holding Victor.  Ian and Heather live and go to school in Madison, Wisconsin.</p>
<p><a href="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/th_auntmolly.jpg" title="th_auntmolly.jpg"><img src="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/th_auntmolly.thumbnail.jpg" alt="th_auntmolly.jpg" /></a> Finally, here&#8217;s Molly.  Molly lives with me and spends three days a week at the Tabitha Intergenerational Day Center.      </p>
<p>Molly and I will be traveling to Missoula later this week to see Victor and his mom and dad.  We haven&#8217;t seen them since Christmas break!  Check back for periodic photo updates.  Soon, I hope to be adding pictures of Dale&#8217;s grandsons and children to this space.  Stay tuned!</p>
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			<media:title type="html">Lori with Grandson, Victor.</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">th_hatwithdad1.jpg</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">th_ianheatherv.jpg</media:title>
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		<link>http://uulori.wordpress.com/2007/03/19/18/</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Mar 2007 04:06:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lori</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Elementry School Students and Families]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Our Whole Lives (OWL) for Kindergarten-First Grade Students            Beginning April 1, parents of kindergarten and first graders and their children will meet together for this self-awareness curriculum.  Parents are supported in educating their children about families of all sorts, bodies, personal safety, birth and babies. A weekly homework project promotes dialogue between parents and children.   [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class='snap_preview'><br /><p><strong><span style="font-size:14pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">Our Whole Lives (OWL) for Kindergarten-First Grade Students</font></span></strong><font face="Times New Roman"><span>            </span>Beginning April 1, p<span>arents of kindergarten and first graders and their children will meet together for this self-awareness curriculum.<span>  </span>Parents are supported in educating their children about families of all sorts, bodies, personal safety, birth and babies. A weekly homework project promotes dialogue between parents and children.<span>   </span>Sessions will be held during Sunday School Class time.<span>  </span>Parents should go to the K-2 classroom with their child after the Children’s Story in the Worship Service on April 1, 15, 29 and May 6.<span>  </span>Bruce Raymer and Tracy Schrotberger facilitate.<span>  </span>Please contact Lori Allen if you have any questions.<span>  </span></span></font></p>
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		<link>http://uulori.wordpress.com/2007/03/13/10/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 13 Mar 2007 01:53:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lori</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Youth]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[  March Senior High Youth Group Meetings
Wednesday, March 21  6:00 - 8:00 P.M.
       ]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class='snap_preview'><br /><p><a href="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/yruu.gif" title="yruu.gif"><img src="http://uulori.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/yruu.thumbnail.gif" alt="yruu.gif" /></a>  March Senior High Youth Group Meetings</p>
<p>Wednesday, March 21  6:00 - 8:00 P.M.</p>
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		<title>Social Action Sundays - March 18 and 25, 2007</title>
		<link>http://uulori.wordpress.com/2007/03/13/social-action-sundays-march-18-and-25-2007/</link>
		<comments>http://uulori.wordpress.com/2007/03/13/social-action-sundays-march-18-and-25-2007/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 13 Mar 2007 01:43:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lori</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Elementry School Students and Families]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[This month we will be building on the Social Action Committee&#8217;s Justice Sunday theme of Darfur.  While this topic as a whole is daunting to children in elementary school, it is important for us to share that some people in our world live in very scary and unsafe situations - such as Darfur.  Keeping in [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class='snap_preview'><br /><p>This month we will be building on the Social Action Committee&#8217;s Justice Sunday theme of Darfur.  While this topic as a whole is daunting to children in elementary school, it is important for us to share that some people in our world live in very scary and unsafe situations - such as Darfur.  Keeping in mind that we do not want to introduce traumatic information for our elementary and middle school children, we will be learning about Darfur from the angle of &#8220;A Year in the Life of a Young Girl in Sudan - Halima.&#8221;  This is a Washington Post article that shares the everyday realities for families who have had to leave their homes in a hurry, taking only what they can carry.   The article is well done and speaks in generalities rather than explicit details.</p>
<p>One of the focuses of our class will be to learn more about living in Sudan in any particular political setting.  What is the climate like?  What are houses in the rural areas of Sudan like?  How do the possessions of Sudanese families compare to the possessions of families in Lincoln? </p>
<p>Another focus will be to promote awareness of the situation where families are being displaced and separated from their loved ones.  Some of the children will be making paper doll cutouts that we&#8217;ll be posting our the front lawn of our church on Sunday, March 25, with a poster asking people to &#8220;Pay Attention to Darfur.&#8221; </p>
<p>These are only a couple of the activities that we&#8217;ll be working with during these two multiage Sunday experiences.  As always, we need and welcome parents&#8217; support for lesson presentation and/or support.  You can reach Lori Allen at <a href="mailto:loriallen@inebraska.com">loriallen@inebraska.com</a> or 402-483-2213 if you&#8217;d like to volunteer or if you have any questions.  Or, you can comment to this post!</p>
<p>See you in church!</p>
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		<title>The Unitarian Church in Lincoln, Nebraska</title>
		<link>http://uulori.wordpress.com/2007/03/12/the-unitarian-church-in-lincoln-nebraska-2/</link>
		<comments>http://uulori.wordpress.com/2007/03/12/the-unitarian-church-in-lincoln-nebraska-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Mar 2007 22:20:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lori</dc:creator>
		
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		<description><![CDATA[Hello, and welcome to my blog!  As the Director of Religious Growth and Learning at the Unitarian Church in Lincoln, I will be posting interesting information about our church and about me, personally.  I hope you&#8217;ll find useful and inspiring information here.  Please comment on anything you see here or that you&#8217;d like to see [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class='snap_preview'><br /><p>Hello, and welcome to my blog!  As the Director of Religious Growth and Learning at the Unitarian Church in Lincoln, I will be posting interesting information about our church and about me, personally.  I hope you&#8217;ll find useful and inspiring information here.  Please comment on anything you see here or that you&#8217;d like to see here.  Come back often, as I am just beginning to learn about blogging as I begin this task.  I look forward to being in communication with you.</p>
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