Saturday, May 1, 2004

Talkback: Introductions, etc.

by Chris Walton

In the "olden days" — as in, for several decades during the feisty heyday of the fellowship movement in the mid-twentieth century — lots of Unitarian Universalist services included "Talkback," a time in the service for anybody to respond to the speaker, offer their own point of view, climb on the soapbox, or exercise what the theologian James Luther Adams called "the freedom of the pew." (A lot of congregations never picked up the practice, of course, and many today have moved away from it, hosting a forum for open discussion after the service or calling it something less confrontational. UU World used to call the letters to the editor "Talkback," until a reader commented on the rowdiness and ferocity that had come to characterize the phenomenon in many churches (not to mention the letters to the editor). The magazine renamed the section "Letters.")

But we'll revive the name here, urge everyone to behave themselves, and invite you to start your own conversations in the comments to each week's "Talkback."

This is the open-discussion post. Take it away! (Or tell us about the sermon you heard this week . . .)

Posted by Chris Walton, May 1, 2004 10:07 AM
Comments:

Philocrites says:

May 2, 2004 02:40 PM | Permalink for this comment

At the Unitarian Universalist youth and young-adult site Fuuse, Starguurl asks:

Would you rather UUism be more focused on something you don't necessarily really agree with or would you rather it be more welcoming and open for a wide range of beliefs and ideas with less focus? Which would be better? Which would appeal to you more? Which would sustain a strong community for longer?

Now that's a good question! The discussion thread is several months old, but Fuuse is new to me — and it highlights some of what's best about the discussion among young UUs.

Steve Caldwell says:

May 11, 2004 10:28 PM | Permalink for this comment

How we form church communities and govern ourselves may be an extremely dry topic for some ... however, there are some social justice implications surrounding congregationalism and congregational polity.

I'll state up front that congregations are essential for long-term stability and continuity in Unitarian Universalism.

But I'll disagree with the suggestion that the only way one can be a Unitarian Universalist is in a congregational setting. And I'll suggest that the reason we have some non-congregational UU groups may be a sign of failure within our congregations in that we are not always welcoming to all persons who desire to live within a covenental religious community.

Roger Kuhrt says:

May 20, 2004 04:42 AM | Permalink for this comment

By way of historical note; when I was called to the Unitarian Universalist ASSOCIATION of Tacoma (Wa.St.) the talkback after the sermon (with a corresponding column in the Newsletter) was titled: "Lay Lick." I must admit I loved it all (but I was younger then) and I was the one that called a halt to it in the mid-80's. I threw in the towel because a very sick parishioner decided to use the time to make blatant remarks about her "x" in both print and verbally. This, of course, was long before the days of Congregational Covenants and I could not in good conscience allow this abuse to go on--I suspect that is when this congregation moved from being a Fellowship to becoming a Congregation. But I am still a fiesty old mystic humanist and I still love such engagement when it is emotionally sensible.