The Unitarians: Week Two
I have spent some time on my calling this week; mostly just getting a list of people who might be able to “sit” with an older woman who has a broken leg. Her daughter wants to go out two days a week for a half-day each time. I see about 20 women I can ask, and I’m only up to the “N’s.”
I went to Relief Society today. I didn’t attend sacrament meeting because DH didn’t have an early meeting, and I had slept in a bit. OK, I slept in a LOT. 9:00! Anyhow, RS was very nice. We talked a bit about extended family.
I went to the UU meeting again before RS, and it was interesting. Apparently they sing the same welcome song and the same closing song every week. Their hymns are still somewhat hymn-like, though TOTALLY different from the LDS hymns. The order of service is also always the same. Today’s reading was from the Bhagavad Gita. It was very inspiring. The sermon was about moving forward with hope after what we’ve been through, and was also good.
The minister has resigned. He said he has determined, since the hurricane, that the congregation will be better served by a different kind of minister and that he would be served better by a different ministry. I take it that this has been a difficult time for him, and he doesn’t want to stay here any longer. I absolutely relate to this.
Apparently, this is not how things are normally “done.” The interim ministers don’t become available until July, so they are going to find an interim interim minister. They get help from the district and their sister congregations for this. Then, in July, they’ll start searching earnestly for a permanent replacement. They will no longer have financial assistance from the district for the minister’s salary after July. This is apparently some concern for them, as their numbers have just been decimated by Katrina.
This entire process seems very strange, and yet, proper to me. They are worried about money. They make their own decisions, but have assistance from wealthier congregations in these difficult times, and the resources of a district to draw from. They operate within a fairly structured framework but have an enormous amount of personal freedom. The UU principles are well-defined.
I like it there. I’m going to give it the rest of February doing both, and see how that works. I think it’s interesting that attending RS was really quite pleasant today, and I think that may be because I did something positive for myself, too.
I went to Relief Society today. I didn’t attend sacrament meeting because DH didn’t have an early meeting, and I had slept in a bit. OK, I slept in a LOT. 9:00! Anyhow, RS was very nice. We talked a bit about extended family.
I went to the UU meeting again before RS, and it was interesting. Apparently they sing the same welcome song and the same closing song every week. Their hymns are still somewhat hymn-like, though TOTALLY different from the LDS hymns. The order of service is also always the same. Today’s reading was from the Bhagavad Gita. It was very inspiring. The sermon was about moving forward with hope after what we’ve been through, and was also good.
The minister has resigned. He said he has determined, since the hurricane, that the congregation will be better served by a different kind of minister and that he would be served better by a different ministry. I take it that this has been a difficult time for him, and he doesn’t want to stay here any longer. I absolutely relate to this.
Apparently, this is not how things are normally “done.” The interim ministers don’t become available until July, so they are going to find an interim interim minister. They get help from the district and their sister congregations for this. Then, in July, they’ll start searching earnestly for a permanent replacement. They will no longer have financial assistance from the district for the minister’s salary after July. This is apparently some concern for them, as their numbers have just been decimated by Katrina.
This entire process seems very strange, and yet, proper to me. They are worried about money. They make their own decisions, but have assistance from wealthier congregations in these difficult times, and the resources of a district to draw from. They operate within a fairly structured framework but have an enormous amount of personal freedom. The UU principles are well-defined.
I like it there. I’m going to give it the rest of February doing both, and see how that works. I think it’s interesting that attending RS was really quite pleasant today, and I think that may be because I did something positive for myself, too.
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