Are First UU's Inside Traders?

Michael LeBurkien

July 17, 2011

Good Morning Beloved Community. MEOW!! You are FAT CATS. We are a very wealthy, self satisfied, insider trading, tax cheating FAT CAT congregation. We are the spiritually richest congregation in the USA.

We are gorged with honest religion, true and relevant religion…..but you refuse to Evangelize, to share the Good News with others. You are guilty of Spiritual Insider Trading in a most precious life sustaining and enhancing commodity; authentic religious stocks and bonds and spiritual gold. You are inside traders, taking advantage of non public information, keeping it non public…..keeping UU’ism and FUUCA a secret as if this knowledge were your birthright. This is religiously illegal and a violation of our mission statement. This illegal activity raises the cost of purchasing honest religion, an essential commodity for all. It decreases the spread of spirituality over the entire planet earth. Our attitude is I’ll scratch your back and you scratch mine. You give religious tips to insider members, but not the general public. We are self satisfied in our little hidden cul de sac at the end of poorly traveled No Outlet Rd. This is fraudulent and violates the duty of full disclosure. We all may end up in prison. We may be in spiritual prison and on the way to spiritual Hell this very moment.

Speaking of prison listen to the story of Coval Russell from the New York Times. The Butte Co jail cell where Coval spent his last happy days is no bigger than a wheel-chair-size stall at Austin International Airport and dominated by a toilet. He called this place where few would want to spend a single night his home. He spent 14 months there for wounding his landlord with a knife. He became a beloved counselor. He was given dibs on TV program selection. Pops was first in the food line and had a reserved place in Monopoly Game Marathons. He never had visitors, but he did not need any. Here among the transient population of men awaiting trial or sentencing, he had found community. His body was found Wednesday in the Feather River, where he had fallen from a bridge just a hop from the Motel 6 where he was staying since his release. No one doubted what had happened. Russell had petitioned the court to keep him in jail indefinitely and became depressed when the judge granted him probation. He said he would kill himself if he was sent “back out there” with no friends and family. He took a taxi to Table Mountain Ridge….said on a railroad track for 1/2 hour and then disappeared. He was unaware that a UU church in Butte would have taken him into their homeless aid program because it was not advertised to the general public or the Butte Co. prisoners aid programs.

We delude ourselves when we say that UU’ism is just about lofty principals. People seek us out because they simply want a place where they belong. Our world marginalizes, discounts and ignores many folks who are just looking for a place to live a life of spiritual integrity. Lofty principals yes, but it is also a one at a time religion. We all have our secret struggles. We all need community to give us strength to cope with our secret struggles. That is why we need to evangelize to inform the general public that we are here for them.

Evangelism is in our genes, our history. In 1834, George Rogers, a renowned, Universalist circuit rider rode one horseback out West, then Pennsylvania, to preach in Pottsville, Bethlehem, & Womelsdorf speaking English to a German Congregation. Local clergy opposed him with violence. Rocks were thrown, windows broken. He told religious persecutors….”You have mistaken your man. I am not to be stopped, I will preach the universal love of God at the martyr’s stake” Hundreds came to hear him. Think of that next time you complain about a 20 minute drive to church. The evangelistic style spread the good news of Universaism and its heartfelt saving message and make us visible. It emphasized personal evangelism, leading to change is heart and behavior throughout the horseback circuits.

Can we talk? UU’ism is not for everyone. If you plan to attend Gov. Perry’s Houston’s Reliant Stadium religious rally wherein fundamentalist preachers will talk about the Sex Goddess seducing the Emperor thus causing social demise, this is not the church for you. If you think Oprah is an unknowing well meaning handmaiden of the anti-Christ, this is not the church for you, if you think children of immigrants who are born here are raised as terrorist time bombs and should be sent back to countries of their parents origin, this is not the church for you. If you think Mr. Michelle Bachman’s clinic is right in promoting reparative prayers to change gays to straight people and takes government money for that purpose, then this is not the church for you.

On the other hand, on the other hand…. If you think you are responsible for your own mind, body, and spirit, If you know that you don’t know every answer to every question, if you’re not afraid of humanists, who aren’t afraid of pagans, who aren’t afraid of theists, who aren’t afraid of atheists, who aren’t afraid of Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Christians, or Buddhists, if you’re fairly sure that tattoos and body piercing do not signal the end of Western civilization, if you are tired of the phrases acceptable losses & collateral damage, if you’re ashamed of the amount of press coverage given to the debate about the place of God in the Pledge of Allegiance in a country where 1/6 of the children go to bed hungry and health care is considered non-essential, if you’re tired of union rights denied to social workers and teachers who work 2 jobs to make ends meet then this is your church, your community, your spiritual home. This church is good news for you.

In this country we number only 1/4 of a million. Our population was greater 2 decades ago. But in the recent census 600,000 listed themselves as Unitarian Universalists. We are out there, but unevangelized. Fundamentalists have said UU’s believe in nothing and everything. No requirements no beliefs no faith. They don’t know us because we inside trade our beliefs, we inside trade our thoughts on revelation, repentance, resurrection, salvation and the Messianic Age. We are shy about evangelizing and offering our Amazing Grace to spiritual prisoners. We practice illlegal and criminal religion if we don’t communicate our access to spiritual wealth to a religiously impoverished world.

Hey People, we are a vibrant faith of believers. We believe in the motive force of love, We believe in the necessity of the democratic process, We believe in the importance of a religious community, we believe in the freedom of religious expression, We believe in the appreciation of religious ideas, but not religious myths, We believe in the authority of reason and conscience, we believe in the never ending search for Truth and spiritual honesty,We believe in the unity of experience, and all life, We believe in the worth and dignity of each human being, We believe in ethical application of religion with the goal of social justice, We believe in the Amazing Inner Grace that finds completion in community involvement.

When I tell young people students at UT about our beliefs they tell me they did not know a religion like ours existed. Where is your church? What time are services?

Let me end with my own personal story. About 2 years ago I initiated proceedings to end my marriage of 4 decades. Many years were happy and fullfilling . But it became intolerable. I was ashamed and afraid. I masochistically blamed myself for the events leading to divorce. I was afraid of being cut off from my grown children and beautiful grandchildren. I feared being branded a loser not meeting social expectations of not having a spouse, a girlfriend, a partner, a significant other, or even a roommate. I had allowed myself to be cut off from old friends and had been denied the opportunities to make new friends. Like Coval Russell being let out of the Butte Co. jail, I had no community. I contemplated the ending of my life.

But I was drawn to the FUUCA. Embryonic friendships became solid. The ties to community strengthened. I stopped being afraid. I felt strong and worthwhile, I gained spiritual strength and self esteem. I learned to love myself and accept love from other UU’s. I learned from this community and the gym locker room that friendship love and church family love was just as valid as romantic love and having a spouse, girlfriend, significant other or roommate was no guarantee of erotic love anyhow. I gathered my forces and crossed the the stormy Channel to find the safe haven of personal happiness and community service I never looked back. I now have matured, and grown emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. I am light years ahead. I have taken university level courses in family systems, leadership development and non violent communication here. We believe in continuing education here. I don’t even recognize who I was 2 weeks ago, let alone 2 years ago. This church saved my life and it can save yours.

In the Torah it says, “If I am not for myself who will be? If I am for myself alone, what am I?” Let’s get out of our inside trader comfort zone people.” There are millions out there in the general public who like me, like you, need to find a spiritually integrity who need to connected to all creation. What are you, if you are for yourselves alone?