Celebrate!
Well, for those of us in the dog days of summer, the theme for this month is HOT, HOT, HOT! (Why “dog days,” you wonder? In summer, Sirius, the “dog star” rises and sets with the sun. The ancient Romans thought that the light from this bright star added to the summer heat. So…dog days. Of course, it doesn’t really—the seasons are all about how the Earth tilts toward or away from the sun.) Click on the links below to find out about a few hot August holidays.
|
top^
|
We Honor… |
|
Michael Sevetus, a man who got way, way too hot. Servetus was born hundreds of years ago, about 1510. At the age of 14 he went to work for a scholarly Franciscan (Catholic) monk. In working for this religious man Servetus studied the Bible carefully, and came to the conclusion that the Christian doctrine of the trinity—the belief that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are three parts of one God—was not in the Bible and didn’t make sense. In fact, so little sense that the clearest explanation I can give you of what the “doctrine of the trinity” means is a belief that God (the Father), Jesus (God the Son) and the Holy Spirit (also called the Holy Ghost) are of the same essence—the same thing, but not. Sorry, that probably didn’t help much. Anyway, it didn’t make sense to Servetus, either.
This was at the time when the Protestant Christians were first trying to change many things about the Catholic Christian church. Servetus joined the Protestants, and did his best to convince them to accept his arguments that Jesus and God were separate and not equal. He published a book expressing his views called On the Errors of the Trinity. Well, to make a long story short, Servetus got in big trouble for his ideas. To save his life, he moved to a different country and took a different name, and worked for a number of years editing books and studying medicine. In fact, it was Michael Servetus who discovered that our lungs, not our hearts, put oxygen into our blood. But Servetus just couldn’t keep himself from trying to put forward his ideas, continuing to publish under another name. Eventually, when he foolishly attended a church service led by John Calvin, a leader of the Protestant movement, Servetus was caught. He was tried for heresy—having the wrong beliefs. He wasn’t even allowed a lawyer, and was condemned to death by burning at the stake. Like I said, way, way, too hot. He died, but enough people were horrified by the terrible way he was treated that it created a wave of religious tolerance in response. And we get the name Unitarian from the unity of God (as opposed to the trinity) that Servetus wrote about. |
|
top^
|
Act!
Air conditioners use a huge amount of electricity, thereby contributing to global warming and pollution. You can help the planet by finding other ways to cool off, turning your air conditioner (if you have one) down or off altogether. Misting yourself from a spray bottle helps, especially if you make a fan to fan yourself and help the water evaporate quicker. Find cool places to hang out, like on a tile floor. Drink ice water to cool yourself from the inside. Make sure that you keep the windows closed and the shades drawn during the day, and open windows up at night to let the cooler air in. Or, of course, you can just pretend that you’re in the sweltering tropics, and enjoy the heat as best you can.
|
|
top^
|
Nurturing Your Spirit
Of course, being burned to death is a terrible thing. But one way to nurture your spirit in the summer is to appreciate the heat as a special gift of the season. Try this guided meditation:
Find a comfortable place to lie down. It doesn’t have to be someplace hot, but outside is good, if possible. (But if you’re doing this in full sunshine, make sure you put sunscreen on first.) Close your eyes. Feel, or imagine that you feel, the sun shining down on you. Feel the sun’s rays, which have been traveling through space to reach you, being absorbed into your skin. You are getting warm, but also very relaxed. As you get warmer, and more relaxed, you feel yourself start to melt into the earth. Just let go, and imagine your fingers and toes warming and melting, melting into the earth. Slowly, starting from the edges and moving in, like a popsicle left out in the sun, you are melting, turning into a puddle, and slowly being absorbed into the earth. The process is very gentle, very relaxing, being welcomed in as a part of the earth that holds you. You are no longer separate from the earth, but part of it, part of what nourishes the plants, part of the whole wide planet. Enjoy the sensation of belonging to the earth, spreading out through roots and up through the veins of plants to take in the sun again. Then, when you are ready, imagine that you are collecting yourself up again. Pull your melted, spread-out self back together, back to the surface where you are lying, back into your own familiar self, solid once again, but relaxed and warm.
|
|
top^
|
Principles in Practice
It’s hard to say that one of our UU principles is “hotter” than the rest. Which one feels like it could be a “hot topic” to you—something that people might get fired up about? Here’s the list of our principles, in both the original language and a version that’s written to be easier for kids to make sense of:
We covenant to affirm and promote:
We believe:
The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
That each and every person is important;
Justice, equality and compassion in human relations;
That all people should be treated fairly and with kindness;
Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
That we should accept one another and keep on learning together;
A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
That each person must be free to search for what is true and right in life;
The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
That all persons should have a voice in the things that concern them;
The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
In working for a peaceful, fair, and free world;
Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
In caring for our planet earth, the home we share with all living things.
Does any one of them stand out to you? Which do you think is most important? Which do you think is the hardest to do? Are there any that you disagree with? |
|
top^
|
| top^ |
|
