tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672834250325632231.post7858788768335981672..comments2023-11-09T02:06:49.126-06:00Comments on Rancho Santa Clara: Why do you go to church anyway?alcubanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667546605871850986noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672834250325632231.post-68724909594090223432017-08-09T08:58:53.107-05:002017-08-09T08:58:53.107-05:00To Deborah, Felipe, Dan and Magdalena: It seems we...To Deborah, Felipe, Dan and Magdalena: It seems we have something we can all agree on. Regardless of the differences in their specific rituals and beliefs, churches, synagogues and other places of worship provide a much needed community center where people can meet and relate to one another. <br /><br />alalcubanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12667546605871850986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672834250325632231.post-77579645055939025212017-08-08T21:36:45.364-05:002017-08-08T21:36:45.364-05:00Deborah: I think getting out on Sunday morning, or...Deborah: I think getting out on Sunday morning, or any morning for that matter, and making human connection is a good thing for evangelicals, Unitarians and everybody in between. I wish I was better at doing that.Michael Dicksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01720359542700663699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672834250325632231.post-78507451600413444002017-08-08T19:34:00.775-05:002017-08-08T19:34:00.775-05:00Sr. Zapata - I too used to categorize the Unitaria...Sr. Zapata - I too used to categorize the Unitarians as folks who "can't break the habit of going to church Sunday mornings." We attended as a family from the mid-50's to the late 60's, a stirring time of boycotting grapes and marching for civil rights. But going through my mother's papers after her death, I found that she had truly been searching for spiritual sustenance after her evangelical upbringing, and that she had spent many hours with our Unitarian minister in Schnectady before joining the congregation. She continued to be an active UU member until her death.<br />As for myself, many decades on, I'm pleased to hear that the UUs are alive and thriving in expat Mexico. Perhaps we will drop in during our visit this winter. There are many worse places to be on a Sunday morning.Deborah S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15078216183644544899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672834250325632231.post-6946695830040220022017-08-08T16:43:07.058-05:002017-08-08T16:43:07.058-05:00Thank you for your comment via Facebook. I agree a...Thank you for your comment via Facebook. I agree and I have shared several lectures and films at the Center, and even a Christmas dinner at the local Chinese restaurant. Community was very friendly. Chinese food? Not so great. alcubanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12667546605871850986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672834250325632231.post-73673406586280032362017-08-08T16:41:07.455-05:002017-08-08T16:41:07.455-05:00From Dan Lessner:
I can't speak for others, bu...From Dan Lessner:<br />I can't speak for others, but being Jewish is independent of believing in or practicing the Jewish "religion". Technically, if your mother is Jewish, you are too--even if you don't believe in God and eat carnitas and cheese on Yom Kippur. With lobster sauce. Yuck. Some might even set foot in the Jewish Cultural and Community Center of SMA only for a film or to attend a secular-themed lecture, but that is the whole purpose of the JC3. There is nothing at all wrong with getting together for socializing; that is what it means to be part of a community like ours!alcubanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12667546605871850986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672834250325632231.post-58771220194982376872017-08-08T09:01:05.781-05:002017-08-08T09:01:05.781-05:00Oh, I do stay away from Unitarians now. But when t...Oh, I do stay away from Unitarians now. But when the Unitarian married me to my second wife back in the 1980s, I voted Democrat, so we were in sync. I have grown since then.Michael Dicksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01720359542700663699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672834250325632231.post-21194307980811654882017-08-07T16:57:51.992-05:002017-08-07T16:57:51.992-05:00Duly noted and duly amazed. The amount is surprisi...Duly noted and duly amazed. The amount is surprising for such a relatively small congregation. <br /><br />I also corrected the starting time of the second service to 11:00 a.m. <br /><br />Thank you, Jeannie.<br /><br />Al alcubanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12667546605871850986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672834250325632231.post-78677140345367929792017-08-07T16:47:39.609-05:002017-08-07T16:47:39.609-05:00Nice post Al. One little correction about outreach...Nice post Al. One little correction about outreach monies spent by the Community Church - that amount we gave out Sunday morning of $25,000 USD mas o menos was for the 1st 7 months of 2017. We have 5 more months of spending to go and we will spend it to great projects. I'm projecting about $40,000 US for the year. Stay tuned.Jeanniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07374090833339169678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672834250325632231.post-43230936151158975502017-08-07T11:45:40.625-05:002017-08-07T11:45:40.625-05:00This comment is from Magdalena García, an ordained...This comment is from Magdalena García, an ordained Presbiterian minister and a dear friend from Chicago.<br /><br /><br />Love this! And may you be comforted in knowing that your Presbyterian minister friend who no longer pastors a church hops around often and loves to visit the closest Unitarian congregation (Evanston) for some of the reasons you state. As I posted on my Facebook status recently, if Jesus prayed "your kingdom come," why do so many pray "take me to your kingdom?" Jesus did not start a travel agency, but a social agency. Hey, I like Pope Francis. And that drive-in "church" in Florida? Sorry, that's not a church, that's a show. No community, no church.alcubanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12667546605871850986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672834250325632231.post-45759774569096923532017-08-06T20:25:40.922-05:002017-08-06T20:25:40.922-05:00Dear Felipe: Don't want to put words in Her mo...Dear Felipe: Don't want to put words in Her mouth, but the Goddess might have been telling you to stay away from Unitarians, given your rather divergent political perspectives. I tend to agree. <br /><br />al alcubanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12667546605871850986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672834250325632231.post-57169650461533438132017-08-06T17:50:57.291-05:002017-08-06T17:50:57.291-05:00God is female, so she's more correctly address...God is female, so she's more correctly addressed as Goddess. This is so because women encompass everything. Men, less so.<br /><br />Unitarians are people who don't believe in the Goddess, but can't break the habit of going to church Sunday mornings. My second wife and I were married by a Unitarian preacher. Many years later, we met at a coffee house in Houston to discuss some details of our divorce. There, sitting just a couple of tables away, was the minister who married us. That said something, but I don't know exactly what.Michael Dicksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01720359542700663699noreply@blogger.com