“Thinking fast” and “thinking slow” have very different purposes. When it comes to the task of establishing justice, thinking fast may get us to empathy, but only slow, deliberate thinking will get us to equity. Both matter. Pitting one against the other is motivated thinking.

Agra-Kings, Reason, Logic, Poetry, Dance Blog Post

Speaker: David Breeden and Je Hooper

Sunday, June 30, 2019

In the fragmented body politic that is the current US, some convictions concerning reality appear to be requirements for entry into the liberal or conservative “clubs,” with nuance strictly forbidden. Gun control. Abortion rights. Health care. The list goes on. What happens when no gray area is allowed?

Text (PDF): Winks, Scowls, and Virtue Signaling

Speaker: Rev. Derek Kiewatt

Sunday, June 23, 2019

The Stonewall riots (June 28-29, 1969) in New York City were a tipping point for the gay liberation movement in the United States. A lot has changed for the better for LGBTQ+ individuals since then, but much work remains to ensure equal rights. Rev. Derek Kiewatt is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School and the University of Minnesota. An ordained UU minister, he has served congregations in Massachusetts, California, and Minnesota as a parish minister and growth consultant. His last pulpit appearance at FUS was in 1988, as part of a Minister-in-Residence program.

Text (PDF): 50 Years After the Stonewall Riots

For my money, one of the most insightful critics working just now is Timothy Morton, whose latest book, Humankind: Solidarity with Nonhuman People lays out one direction human thinking might go if we manage to save ourselves here in the Anthropocene.

Agra-Kings, Agra-Gods, and the Death of the Planet Blog Post

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Speaker: Rev. David Breeden

Sunday, June 16, 2019

Why is it so difficult to do the one thing that makes life more savory–slowing down and taking a moment.

Text (PDF): Beauty, Emancipation, Freedom

I think the absolute, bottom-line essence of Humanism was best summed up by Frederick Douglass. Douglass had himself escaped enslavement; he worked tirelessly for the rights of African Americans all his life.

When a group of African American ministers came to him and asked him to pray publicly — to thank God for freedom — Douglass refused. He said: “I bow to no priests either of faith or of unfaith. I claim as against all sorts of people, simply perfect freedom of thought.”

“Simply perfect freedom of thought.”

#Juneteenth #Humanism #Freedom #UnitarianUniversalism

https://medium.com/@davidbreeden7/humanisms-non-negotiable-548c193bf24b

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Speaker: Rev. Kelli Clement

Sunday, June 9, 2019

The Beauty of Institutional Strength. Drawing on our congregation’s history of support for reproductive rights and religious freedom, Rev. Kelli discusses a theological grounding for our participation in the Unrestrict MN campaign and lawsuit.

Speaker: David Breeden, Je Hooper and Christopher Sims

Sunday, July 07, 2019

Poetry can express ideas that cannot be expressed in logic or prose.  The speakers explore the magic of spoken word.

Text (PDF): David Breeden & Christopher Sims Dialog

#Humanism #Unitarian #Spirituality

We are too late for the gods and too early for Being” said the German philosopher Martin Heidegger.

“Too late for the gods and too early for Being.”…

Early/Late and the Next Big Religion Blog Post

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Literary critic Terry Eagleton once said, “The din of conversation is as much meaning as we shall ever have.” I like that. On first glance, it appears to be bleak — human conversation is all the meaning there is?

The Din of Conversation Might Save Us Yet Blog Post

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