Re: [UUPoly-L] UUPA and independent affiliate status

["Desmond Ravenstone" <gentlemonster@lycos.com>]

   We still exist and will continue to exist even if they disown us. We are

   still UUs and we will continue to be heard in spite of the ongoing

   efforts of some to silence us.

   Seems more accurate to say that many UU leaders are trying to institute a
   policy of "don't ask, don't tell" -- say you are tolerant and accepting,
   but restrict mention of "certain" groups of people under the UU tent.

   The worst example I've seen of this is with a small congregation here in
   Boston (I won't give the name publicly). They are a UU Christian
   congregation and seem to make that point to excess -- in fact, I've
   half-joked that their motto is: "By God, we're Christian. by God, and by
   God, if you don't like it, by God, then by God, go somewhere else, by
   God." No, they're not that blunt, but ...
   * the only UU literature they have available discuss UU views on
   Christianity, Jesus and the Bible.
   * I and others who have attended events at this church have heard some in
   the congregation speak with discomfort about non-Christian UUs (they
   acknowledge that pagans, Buddhists and others coexist with them within the
   UUA, but find the fact a curiosity at best and a sore spot at worst).
   * When such an exclusionary air is brought to the attention of the
   minister and/or lay leaders, folks have basically been told: "This is the
   way we are, and maybe you'd be better off going to some place like
   Arlington Street Church."

   Speaking of Arlington Street Church, the minister there once remarked to
   me how, when one ground makes advances in social acceptance, (some of)
   their leaders feel the need to "pull up the drawbridge" ahead of other
   groups.

   Desmond Ravenstone

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