Archive for April, 2012
Obstructionism
I ran into someone today who told me something “couldn’t be done.” Not that they’d tried thinking through the problem, fiddled with how to make it work, or actually implemented something toward that end. Simply that it couldn’t be done. I have a bit of loathing and disgust that comes out when I run into situations like this.
I’m reminded of a conference call when I worked at Chiquita. I forget what the end goal was for my transportation team, but we wanted the port to load trailers of fruit and I think hold onto it at the port for a while. What annoyed me was our port operations people got into a mindset of “we can’t do that” without having any good rational reason behind it. In this instance, I think we ended up dropping the line of reasoning on that call, and I asked my supervisor to escalate the problem up the ladder.
But, back to the earlier instance. Its something that the operating government agency really wants input on, and knows its a problem… Luckily I have some free time on my hands and access to the data so I’m going to go after doing some analysis, because I like this sort of stuff.
Epistemological Coffee
I’m one of the two co-leaders of the coffee crew at my church, University Unitarian Church.
One of tasks for coffee crew is to send out a weekly reminder email. For reasons of tradition, interest, and keeping myself entertained I often tell a little story, share witty observation, or make a joke. (They all loved last week when I told them that we had gotten an espresso machine and were going to be taking orders for lattes before the service to be ready and prepared after the service.) This week I shared part of my understanding of truth which seems as if it belongs here. I’ve omitted people’s names but beyond adding a few links its the same email I sent just a few minutes ago. Enjoy!
Good Morning My Dear Coffee Ministers,
I was chatting with Christa, one of the organizers with Sound Alliance yesterday.
I was telling her the story of my faith journey and at one point I had become a hardcore(ish) atheist, believing that god didn’t exist, and I had explored some secular humanist groups, but I was unsettled with their positions and exposed beliefs as I realized they were as dogmatic as some of the other religions I was moving away from. She then asked me how I had such balance in my view of the world. True to form, I didn’t have an answer at that time.
But as I’ve thought through it, I realize that this really comes from a core belief of mine that completely absolute truth is unknowable, and probably non-existent. Now if this was the daily standard of truth that I used, it would be a formula for not being able to operate in the world, so I have lesser standards of truth that I use. Of course, I have one exception to my understanding of truth, and that is its an immutable truth that coffee is good.
Serving up truth for first service is the rock solid team of [a rock solid team of three folks]. If all y’all could arrive and get started setting up around 8:30 am that’d be wonderful.
Continuing the deliverance of truth for second service is the team of [another great team of three folks]. If one of you could arrive by 11 am to relieve the first crew, and the rest could arrive before first service that would be most helpful.
Cleaning up the true-coffee soaked towels this week is [a guy with a washer and dryer who used to co-lead coffee crew with me]. If everyone could gather them up as you work through the day that’d be wonderful.
I’ll be checking in as my covenant group is providing the center table. I’m not sure if this’ll be a busier or slower coffee crew because of easter. I’m guessing it’ll be an average sunday, but so we’ll find out. As always, if there is anything that [my awesome co-lead on coffee crew] or I can help you with in your true coffee ministry, please let us know.
Warmly,
Nick
Mormons: Standing on the Side of Love
I wrote this comment on YouTube:
Thank you to everyone poured their hearts into making this video.
I could nitpick about the phrase “same sex attraction” or some of the other phrasing, but I recognize that the people who are in this video are struggling with their feelings, thoughts, teachings, and societal messages that they have received over decades. In the face of this they have they have chosen love.
Many of the comments accuse Mormons in this video of trying to “repair their image” or arguing that they are part of a “hateful cult”. I’m not going to make excuses for Prop 8 or many other anti-GLBT efforts that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has engaged in.
No church is perfect.
My own liberal faith has its negative history in our treatment of GLBT people. In Unitarian Universalist LGBT History & Facts it notes that “In 1969 the first UU minister came out as homosexual on the national scene: Rev. James L. Stoll. He never served a congregation again. Prior to that, ministers discovered to be gay were fired from their congregations (though once one was rehired as a custodian).” Yes, that was 43 years ago, and as a faith we’ve walked on a path of greater acceptance and inclusion. I know this path was trail blazed by many individual Unitarian Universalists who shared their vision of love in the face of others who sowed mistrust, uneasiness, and half-platitudes of acceptance.
Both the Mormons in that video and I agree on at least one: a vision of love and inclusion.
I know that the Mormon community isn’t where I’d like them to be on accepting GLBT people, but I fully embrace those Mormons who are Standing on the Side of Love. I welcome them into my community, my home, and my heart.