This website needs new energy and attention. It has more than 148k collected, searchable items…. It is automated, requiring little attention day-to-day.

Moving forward…

I am looking for interested Unitarian Universalists who will take ownership of this collection, the Facebook page, and the domain name. I will provide transition technical support (and possibly other support). I want this site to continue and thrive. It is now stable and manageable, although has much room for improvement and growth. There are many pages of relevant UU information created online that are being lost or obscured. There are other ways this information can be used to inform the community moving forward.

Let’s discuss.

This is a personal post by Earl Alvin Daniels, the originator of WWUUD.net. It is my hope that this post will be archived and no longer needed on the live version of this website, when/if this website continues into the future.

The background…

With the transition of Thich Nhat Hanh yesterday, I am brought to the present moment awareness of what is really important. I need to be attentive.

I see much good in the Unitarian Universalist world, where many people find much-needed acceptance. I also see people trying to protect that world in ways that are not so accepting. It is tragic when the oppressed become oppressors, when the maligned and attacked react in ways that seem to go beyond protecting to attacking.

I see shunning of people. I see acceptance, albeit limited at times.

I see fear. I see suffering.

I see people trying to build a better world and people protecting what they have. Sometimes these are the same people.

I see walls dividing people. I see opportunities to build bridges. And even more opportunities to see that we are on the same island.

My heart is heavy in those instances. Since 2017, I have often felt “caught in a fight” where people who I love are in conflicts that seem to ignore our interbeing.  There are no “bad guys” in these conflicts, they are all doing their best. The conflicts still continue. I fully agree that we do not want to cause psychological, spiritual, or emotional damage to any individuals and communities.

The dilemma seems to exist within our perceptions of “individual” and “community.” I feel that the path forward may be found in a new first principle that includes Love. I am not in a good place to lead into that Love, and this site alone will not provide “facts” that will alter anyone’s perceptions.

While this site was started for other reasons, it is now only being maintained as a hopefully unbiased witness to what is going on in the UU world in the light of what seems to be significant changes. I am willing to discuss how this collection came to be and how it has been maintained.

So, I’m looking for someone to take on this site. See my other post for more…

Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly 2001, Cleveland, Ohio

Sponsor: Unitarian Universalists (UUs) for Ethical Treatment of Animals

The Schweitzer Sermon Award is given annually to the preacher who best articulates Albert Schweitzer’s principle of “reverence for life.” Following the worship service and delivery of the sermon, UUs for Ethical Treatment of Animals will hold a brief annual meeting.

Retrieved from archive.org

Another person who believes in the ethical treatment of animals, i.e. don’t eat them, is Atlanta  Trauma Therapist Nyambura Kihato. She now practices with Karuna Counseling!

Central East Region of the UUA

Continue reading "Opportunities for Connection ~ November 2021"

Continue reading "Guidance for Outdoor Gatherings During COVID-19"

This week marked the third anniversary of the mass murder at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh on October 27, 2018.  I was asked to do the Chalice Lighting at the Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation in McHenrythe next day.    The topic for the morning was sanctuary.  I threw away what I had carefully prepared.  I was planning on reading this new poem instead which was totally inadequate to the situation but due to a scheduling mix up, I didn’t read it that day.  Instead, I read it for the first time a year later at the Tree of Life Coffee Houseat the church.  The poem also referenced other ugly, hateful episodes the same week.

Sanctuary in a Very Bad Week

Headlines: 

Trump Attempts to Erase Transgender Identity

Two Blacks Killed at Walmart by Angry Racist

14 Bombs Sent to Targets Denounced by Trump

11 Dead at Tree of Life Synagogue Mass Murder

Sacred shelter—A haven offered or sought, 

   a holy obligation and a desperate resort.

The Church once offered it to those fleeing

   the wrath of a king or war lord.

Today we are called to offer it to

   immigrants and refugees,

      the homeless and unwanted,

            the despised of color, gender, faith,

               abused women and families,

                  all the wretched.

Know this—Sanctuary can fail.

   Ask Thomas Becket, Ann Frank,

      the four little Girls of Birmingham,

            the frozen bum,

               the murdered wife,

                  the deported asylum seeker,

         the immigrant children in cages,

            the dead Jews of Tree of Life.

But failure does not cancel hope or duty.

   time to step up,

      to take our chances,

            to become a People of Sanctuary.

—Patrick Murfin