HERETICS UNITE!
by Roland Rhoades, reprinted from The Maine Commons newspaper
Buddhists, Taoists, Humanists,
Pagans, liberal
religious dilettantes against dogma, social activists, cultural creatives
all find home at Unitarian Universalist churches. Check your yellow pages for
one near you, or click here for a UU
church near you.
We don't believe in "Judgment
Day".
We work towards "NON-JUDGMENT DAY"!
I am making it my personal mission to unite all heretics and
revolutionaries to work together. I have created this website to try to
coordinate all the peoples working toward the same objectives. We enjoy
having a place to meet and socialize with other socially responsible
people, as opposed to most of the corporate or unenlightened world. Gandhi
said those who think religion and politics don’t have anything to do with
one another, don’t know much about politics, or religion. Each UU church
is slightly different based on the size and interests of its membership. - Roland
Rhoades
I have been a Unitarian
Universalist (UU) for a number of years; we are very involved in “saving
the world” from corporate criminals. I view the UU un-Church as a refuge
for people who hate regular church and the dogma of telling you what to
believe. We have many Pagans, Buddhists, Taoists, Hindus, Humanists, and
many of us are a combination of all the above, thinking for ourselves.
I was very pleasantly surprised to discover
The Maine Commons and
Maine Indymedia this past spring at a benefit concert for Carolyn Chute. It
was really encouraging to see an organized group of politically aware
people in Maine. Click the link to see the on-line
version of their statewide newspaper. I was also amazed at the politically conscious talent of folksingers
David Rovics and Ethan Miller. I knew then that I had to make the UU
churches aware of them and try to get the various progressive social action
groups in Maine to coordinate activities wherever possible.
I am currently a member of
Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist
Church in Portland
(nickname A2U2), so I am presenting a news report of our activities. We
are very active with Peace
Action Maine. Of
course, we organized for the very successful October 26 2002 antiwar rally in Augusta, and the minister of the Saco UU Church, Karen
Brammer, even got her
picture into the Portland Sunday Telegram. The UU Ministers Association
also had an antiwar demonstration in Portland
October 14. The
election proves that we have much work to do in educating the public that US
terrorism is not the answer, it just adds to the problem. We individuals
may seem like snowflakes at times - completely insignificant in a hopeless
task, but... which snowflake is the one that creates an avalanche,
completely changing the landscape? We must persevere..
The A2U2 Social Action Committee is also continuing it’s support
of ASERELA, the Sudanese refugee community, support of the Preble Street
Soup Kitchen, and holds monthly forums on social issues (public is
invited). We had a speaker from Maine People’s Alliance
www.mainepeoplesalliance.org
update us on their work towards universal single-payer health care. And we
have a good sized contingent at the Maine Gay Pride March each year also.
We have also been holding weekly sessions reviewing the Praxis Peace
Institute Conference which was held in Dubrovnik
Croatia
last June, complete with videos and audios of the presentations, hosted by
a Yarmouth UU church member who went there. I have been glad to see that it
deals with not only physical warfare, but also economic warfare in which
the corporate system purposely creates a class system in America. We have also discovered at these sessions that there is a 50-million
strong contingent in America
that generally believes in peace and environmental issues, but is
unorganized and unaware of each other. They have been dubbed “cultural
creatives” and the website www.culturalcreatives.org begins to organize
these people who find the website (or the book), to let them know that they
really are not alone in their beliefs. We could really get somewhere if we
all worked together.
ALTERNATIVE
ENERGY FAIR
On
November 10, 2002 A2U2 hosted, and co-sponsored with the Maine Council of
Churches, a demonstration of energy-efficient alternative transportation
means with electric and gas-electric hybrid powered cars, and electric
mopeds for people to test drive. It was very successful with hundreds of
people attending. The event was covered by Portland TV stations and the Portland
newspaper. The Toyota
and Honda hybrid vehicles have plenty of pep and room and get 50-60 mpg. We
also learned that they are self-charging, nothing to plug into special
re-chargers, and the cost isn’t much more than any other new car.
American carmakers seem to prefer their alliance with the oil companies. We
are also promoting “Buy Locally” to reduce the amount of oil required
to transport foods across the country. We also had a solar panel display,
and representatives from Sierra Club, Greater Portland Metro which now has
some electric buses, and many other organizations and agencies. The church
service beforehand included a skit with Mother Earth showing how much
pollution a trip to Boston
causes (20 lbs of CO2 per gallon!).
About
Roland Rhoades
(copied from
my Fuller Brush business website where I also try to open minds)
My
Fuller Brush income is giving me the financial freedom to enjoy other
pursuits and hobbies when other people have to work at a job. I am spending
more time on genealogy, tracing my family tree and assisting others with
common surnames, especially the names French, Leavitt, Reynolds, Boardway/Boudway
et al, Morgrage/Morgridge, and some other Maine families. My life partner
since 1998 is Cyndy.
I
am also volunteering more time at church, actively participating in social
justice causes. I believe one must have an open mind to have an open heart.
My church believes in a Higher Power with many names and messengers,
according to the cultures of various parts of the world, and the value of
every religion. Someone asked god why s/he doesn't perform major miracles
anymore, and s/he replied "because every time I do, you people start a
new religion and persecute all my other peoples, or tell them that they
have to believe the same way that you think I'm telling you to
believe." I think that believing that your way is the only
way, is at the root of the terror that we see in today's headlines. I
strongly recommend, as life-changing books, "Ishmael" by Daniel
Quinn, "The Celestine Prophecy" by James Redfield, and the
"Conversations With God" series of books by Neale Donald Walsch.
I also recommend the website of an outstanding social justice songwriter
and folksinger, www.DavidRovics.com
. If my beliefs offend anyone, that's your problem. Peace
and Love, Roland Rhoades.
See also: Why Hell doesn't exist and Why I became a UU
at the "NO HELL?" link above.
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Standard Disclaimer:
The opinions and views in this website may not necessarily reflect the
views of all UUs, and are merely the statement of opinion of THIS UU
activist. I hope you will all
visit a UU church near you and begin researching your own theology. Tell
them you saw the HERETICS website.
