Welcome to New Blogger!

Welcome aboard to Bridget Wilson, who is a major Judge Advocate in the CA State Military Reserve, and a veteran of USAR.

Bridget is also a member of Dignity - a group of LGBT Catholics - who celebrate Mass at First UU in San Diego, so she feels like an honorary UU. She also writes,

I am an attorney who in addition to my civil practice handles military law matters. I am always in the hunt for a Unitarian minister or lay minister who would be willing to do military jail visits. There are two major military confinement facilities in the area. I have some clients who could greatly benefit from UU contact. Some of those are gay, and I periodically hear from Wiccans or other“pagans”. It is difficult to get military authorities to acknowledge clergy from gay or pagan groups, but UU, that is something officially recognized by the armed forces. [Sigh, I once had a brig commander tell me he had no intention of allowing “Satanism’ in his brig. You get the drift.] I am happy to exchange info.

Thanks for joining us, Bridget, and we look forward to seeing your posts!

Church of the Larger Fellowship

Yesterday Erika Nonken, of the UUA Public Affairs Office, wrote:

I couldn’t help but notice that the Church of the Larger Fellowship (file://www.uua.org/clf) wasn't included in your list of UU congregations with military members. It has the largest percentage of military members of any congregation, so far as we know, and almost certainly serves the largest number of active UU military service people. If you haven't yet advertised your forum through the Church of the Larger Fellowship, I would encourage you to do so.

Thanks, Erika, for the great suggestion.

UU World Article Ignores Military UUs (Updated 3/29)

How's that for an inflammatory title? I just couldn't resist. :-)

A couple of weeks ago UUMilBlogger Jamie Goodwin let us know about an upcoming UU World article about the third anniversary of the Iraq war. I dutifully contacted the author, and he interviewed me by phone for about 30 minutes. I told him my opinion about how military UUs are viewed by the "average" UU - either with ignorance or antipathy - and some of my experiences. I also told him how in every case when I've encountered someone with a negative attitude about military members, once that person got to know me as an individual, the reaction was always the same: "wow, I had no idea there were people like you in the military!" Sound familiar to anyone else?

The author seemed very interested in what I had to say, so I was really looking forward to an article that would acknowledge and honor military UUs. The end result, however, was a compilation of UU war protests and other events marking the third anniversary of the Iraq invasion, with one brief mention of military UUs. I was pretty disappointed.

I don't blame the author - doubtless there are valid reasons why no UU military voices were included in the article. ** But as I told him in an e-mail this morning,

... I think that we UUs in general are actually pretty intolerant when it comes to people who aren't "like" us. This seems to include military members, Christians, political conservatives, and doubtless others. We talk the talk of inclusion and acceptance, but we don't always walk the walk. I wonder if this has influenced the editorial policy of UU World?

This e-mail was in response to his very gracious note to me. He offered his apologies for not being able to include my information in the article, and indicated that they (presumably UU World) will be revisiting the topic of UUs in the military. We can hope.

The upside of this whole episode is that it's reenergized me to continue working toward a military UUA affiliate, as David Pyle introduces here. David, sorry I've dropped out of the picture on this for so long.

We can't rely on others to do our work, so if you value being heard and raising the awareness of the "average" UU about the unique circumstances and challenges of military UUs, please join us.

** UPDATE 3/29 **

After my original post, I got another e-mail from the author, explaining that my one voice was not enough to "bend the story" in the direction of military UUs. So next time UU World solicits input from us, let's give them more voices!

Make Your Voices Heard!

Are you a Unitarian Universalist who is serving or has served in Iraq?

Do you feel that your voice has been muted by your congregation or religious home?

Would you like to contribute to an upcoming article in the UU World magazine?

Please email me at jgoodwin103@aol.com (or link through my profile) so I can put you in touch with someone to make it happen.

This is a unique opportunity for we UUs who are veterans or military members.. as always the more voices that can be heard the better.

Fallen Guardsman's Wiccan faith unrecognized

By SEAN WHALEY © 2006 REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU


FERNLEY -- Nevada National Guard Sgt. Patrick Stewart gave his life for his country when the Chinook helicopter he was in was shot down in Afghanistan in September.
But those wishing to honor Stewart, who should have his name on the memorial wall at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Fernley, 34 miles east of Reno, would have a difficult time doing so.

The space reserved for Stewart, right next to Chief Warrant Officer John Flynn, his comrade from Sparks who also died in the attack as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, is vacant.
Stewart was a follower of the Wiccan religion, which is not recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs for use in its cemeteries.

Stewart's widow, Roberta, said she will wait until her family's religion -- and its five-pointed star enclosed in a circle, with one point facing skyward -- is recognized for use on memorials before Stewart's plaque is installed.

"It's completely blank," Roberta Stewart said, pointing to her husband's place on the memorial.
She said she had no idea the pentacle could not be used on her husband's memorial plaque until she had to deal with the agency after the death of her husband.

"It's discrimination," she said. "They are discriminating against our religion.

"I had no idea that they would decline our veterans this right that they go to fight for," she said. "What religion we are doesn't matter. It's like denying who my husband is."

Patrick Stewart's dog tags, which Roberta Stewart wears around her neck, carry the word Wiccan on them to identify his religious beliefs. But she said he was never told the Wiccan religion was not officially recognized during his 13 years of military service in different capacities.

"By they way, if you die for your country, your religion won't be recognized, that would be nice to know," Roberta Stewart said.

For full story, click here
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Mar-02-Thu-2006/news/6149634.html

Gay & Lesbian Servicemembers for Equality

The Following message came to me through one of my friends, and thought I could help get the word out to GLBT Service Members, as an ally... David

Forwarded on behalf of Gay & Lesbian Servicemembers for Equality: GLSME
A Resource for those who Serve
www.glsmeforum.org

I am proud to announce the re-launch of the Gay and LesbianServicemembers for Equality (GLSME) website. The GLSME website,www.glsmeforum.org, is a resource for active duty LGBT servicemembers, their partners, straight allies, and families. We offer a safe networkof support, a forum in which to discuss and share ideas, news andinformation on LGBT military issues, and people to contact ifindividuals have specific concerns or need assistance.

Of note is the GLSME Forum, where the LGBT military community canjoin a discussion about current issues, chat with others who are goingthrough similar experiences, and find some friends. Visitors can stayinformed on LGBT military community topics on our News and Statisticspage, where we provide current press releases and graphic representations on the effects of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.

We are also featuring a Links and References page, highlighting otherorganizations and the resources they can offer to the LGBT military community. From legal advice to personal counseling, these organizations are here to help. Many these organizations' staffmembers were active duty servicemembers at one point, so they understand the challenges inherent in serving and the need for confidentiality.

On the GLSME blog you can follow projects like the Call to Duty Tour, a unique effort by young gay veterans to educate the public and more conservative audiences about Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and debate the merits of the policy through a seven weekcollege speaking tour at over 20 universities. Please inform your friends and coworkers about this site, and also forward it on to anyone in the LGBT military community that would benefit from it. Working together to make life better for active duty LGBT servicemembers is what we're all about.

Sincerely,

Patrick English
President, Gay and Lesbian Servicemembers for Equality
patrick@glsmeforum.org
www.glsmeforum.org

Note: The GLSME is in no way politically affiliated nor does it lobby or advocate for repeal of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell law. Discussion on this matter, however, is highly encouraged. The GLSME fully supports any effort to make life better for LGBT servicemembers.This is also not a dating or personals site. Vulgarity, crude language, and sexual propositioning will not be tolerated.

War vets ready for new battle: Politics

Full Story

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. — The lunchtime crowd is thinning at Portillo's Hot Dogs near O'Hare Airport when the candidate arrives. Leaning on a cane, she moves slowly on her $120,000 bionic legs with a stooped and halting stride. Tammy Duckworth lost both legs while serving in Iraq. After more than a year in rehab, she's campaigning for Congress.

By Tim Dillon, USA TODAY

"Hi! I'm Tammy Duckworth, the Iraq war veteran running for Congress. You might have heard of me?" she says, extending her mangled right arm to shake hands.

Indeed, many here in Chicago's western suburbs have already heard of the Illinois National Guard helicopter pilot who lost both legs and full use of her right arm when a rocket-propelled grenade hit her Blackhawk in a 2004 attack in Iraq.
Maj. Ladda "Tammy" Duckworth, 37, spent nearly a year at Washington's Walter Reed Army Hospital, and her rehabilitation has been chronicled in national media, including USA TODAY.

Military UUs in Germany

Thanks to Kay Meyer for telling us about the Kaiserslautern UU Fellowship on Ramstein AB, Germany, which she says "may be the only UU fellowship to meet on a military base!" She also tells us of two other stateside UU congregations with military members, First UU of San Antonio and First UU of Wichita.

Kay has also requested to join our rolls as a blogger, so we look forward to seeing her posts soon.

31 December 2005

Hello fellow military UU’s,

And Happy New Year!

At the General Assembly in Ft. Worth, Texas this year, there was a program for UU’s in the Military. Those who organized the program did not have any idea how many would attend, but hoped for at least thirty. Around 200 people attended.

During the program, story after story was told by Military UU’s about their experiences, both as people of liberal faith in the military, and as military members, veterans, and families in a liberal faith.

One thing was clear from the meeting… the UUA is in need of an affiliate organization to help support UU Military members, veterans, families, and defense employees. We also need an organization to be a voice for our liberal faith within the military, to support our UU military chaplains, to aid in the formation of new UU military chaplains, and to work towards social action programs that will benefit our military.

Since General Assembly, a small working group has come together to work for the formation of such an independent affiliate organization, but we need your help. We are in need of dedicated individuals who share this vision to help form a “Charter Board” to draft the “By-laws” and other basic infrastructure to make this organization a reality.

Please visit http://uumilitary.dynamicdeism.org/ and join the discussion forum if you wish to serve on the Board, or even if you just wish to provide your support and brainstorm with us.

Also, we invite you to check out the draft of our plan to found this UU Military Independent Affiliate organization. http://uumilitary.dynamicdeism.org/FoundingUUMPlan.doc

The official public face of our efforts is the UU's in the Military Blog at http://uumilitaryblog.blogspot.com/ (That's here, this was also posted in a few other places)

Our denomination is in need of an organization to outreach to the military, support military UU’s, and to help our congregations better understand and support Military members, families, veterans, and defense employees. Please come join us!

Yours in faith,

David Pyle
Former SGT, U.S. Army
On Behalf of the UU Military Affiliate Organization Working Group

Hello all,

A friend of mine, a UU currently serving in the Air Force, brought a resource from the UU Washington Office for Advocacy to my attention, and I wanted to share it with you.

It is an article discussing the UUA's relationship with the military, and beginning the discussion about the support that we as a denomination need to be prepared to provide to soldiers, sailors, and airmen, especially those returning from war and their families while they are deployed.

All in all, it is an excellent document. I would have prefered to see more of a mention about supporting military members who are already UU's as well, we have to begin somewhere.

Many of the issues that are discussed in the article are the reasons why we are working to found a UU Affiliate Organizaiton for Military Members, Families, Veterans, and Defense employees.

I am going to provide the link, but also provide a link to a place where this document can be discussed...

Here is the article

http://www.uua.org/uuawo/new/article.php?id=589

If you would like to discuss ways we can implement ideas from this article in founding a UU Affiliate organization for the Military, follow the below link...

http://uumilitary.dynamicdeism.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=49#49

It found it heartwarming that a group in our denomination with no overt connection to the military was clear enough about the needs of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines that the document shows. It also brings forth the problem of how some have been treated in our denomination.

For that article, I think the UU Washington Office for Advocacy should get a Bravo Zulu!

Yours in Faith,

David

Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of Congress the Medal of Honor to Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.

Courtesy of Bill Baar , get the full story here

Why We Do This

Hello All,

It has been sometime sense anyone updated, so I thought i would share some thoughts I had. I was recently asked by a fellow congregate of mine, and a good friend I might add, "What is your goal in [creating a UU Military Affiliate Ogranization]". She was curious and not confrontational. I explained to her that what we think of as the military, the aggression and the never surrender attitude, is only part of the story. In fact I think it is simply the surface of the story.

The amazing part of the stories that many Veterans tell isn't the battles or trials. It is the life long friendships that many of them had made. You never forget that person who lends you a helping hand and shares some of the most profound life experiences with you. I have personally seen Vets who have not seen each other in over 10 years fall into each others arms crying. It is a dignified, honorable, precise occupation to be in the military, it is also likely one of the most deep, emotionally bonding. and sharing experiences many of us have ever had.

I recently saw a television show, a documentary called In the Shadow of the Blade. It follows a restored Huey copter as it travels around the country connecting veterans and family members of those who lost their lives in the Vietnam conflict. The amazing part of this story is just what they where celebrating. It wasn't war - many didn't even understand why they where at war, it wasn't death. It was the celebration of a machine and people who where the healers and hero's. It was the people who faced danger and death to touch down and carry away the injured and pinned down. It was the Angel in OD Green descending from the heavens... To Take You Home.

It is for them, and for the similar hero's of every conflict and in the military today that makes me want to do this. They deserve a group of people who care about them, and can offer them a religious home that suits their needs.

A heart-felt Thank You to the crews and maintenance personnel of the Huey flying machines, to all Vietnam Veterans, and to all Veterans and Military members everywhere.

Until Then, and Always

New Submission in Logo Contest

Hello all,

I have received a new submission in the logo contest... This one is actually not in graphic design, but it words....

I put it forth for your perusal!

Basically it'd be a chalice on the left, bottom, with the flame being like an american flag, not the colors only but the top left being blue with white stars and the res being alternating red and white, but still in the shape of a flame, not rectangular, more like the flame is reflecting an american flag. Then an arc of pink hearts would come up to the right from the flame and at the top of the arc would be a camoflage colored dove. So that it would look like the dove flew out of the chalice and it leaves a line of hearts that represent love behind it as it flies. The dove of course represents freedom, the chalice: UU, and the hearts: love.

This came to us from Gretchen McCready. I like the idea of the flame being the flag!

Yours in Faith,

David

Military Readiness Act

According to The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network now a full one hundred US Senators and Representatives support the repeal of Don't Ask - Don't Tell and favor the Military Readiness Act which would end discrimination in our military forces based on a individuals sexual orientation.

What is amazing to me is the growing amount of traditionally conservative Congress Persons who are supporting this act. To be honest i was worried that this bill was ill timed. I was worried that presenting it would cause a back-lash against homosexual issues nationwide. It has yet not garnered the type of national exposure many of us expected to see. When it finally does hit the mainstream it will be interesting to see how America reacts.

More from Fort Drum...

Connie Holberg writes:

All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in Watertown, New York is the closest UU congregation to Fort Drum, home of the 10th Mountain Division. Our Web site is http://www.allsoulsuu.org/ We have military members too. Unfortunately they tend to move on to other bases, and are also often deployed for long periods of time.

Thanks, Connie! All Souls Watertown is now on the list. That's three "All Souls" with military members.

This next submission in the UU Military Affiliate Organization logo contest that I am sponsoring is coming to us from David Concepcion.

This is exactly why I am glad I put out the call. I would never have thought of turning dogtags into a chalice! How cool is that?

One thing that came to mind in doing this is that, having multiple submissions is a great thing, because just having the logo will not be enough. We will need other graphics as well, for websites and brochures. I am fairly certain that all of these will be used, when I think about it!

Yours in Faith,

David

Hello Everyone!

I have received our first official submission in our process of developing and then selecting a logo for the UU Military Affiliate Organization that we are working to found.

This entry comes from Erik David Carlson, one of the founding members of the Church of the Younger Fellowship, and www.fuuse.com . Erik is also in my class at Meadville Lombard, and will make an incredible minister some day...

Now, these entries are concept drawings... even when we choose one, we are going to want to have a professional graphics artist to create the final version... Luckily, one has offered her services! Thank you Cynthia!

But, when she asked me what I thought such a logo could look like, I simply had no clue. So, I put out the call for logo designs, and thanks to Erik David we have our first entry! As we get more, I will post them here!

Yours in Faith,

David Pyle
Galveston Island, TX

Another Military UU Congregation

Thanks to Caroline from the All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, OK for pointing out that her congregation has military members, including her son Avery who is in the Army in Iraq. Surely there are more out there - e-mail us and we'll add them to the links section.

What Does Veterans Day Mean To Us

Tomorrow is Veterans Day, it is a national holiday but the only people off work are likely to be federal employees and people who work at banks. Originally called Armistice Day it was meant not only as a celebration of victory of World War I, but as a celebration of the desire and hope that in the future nations would resolve conflicts through peaceful means. We know now that War would come again to our world. So often, in fact, that it is sometimes hard to picture a people actually believing that they had seen the end of military conflict. After World War II and The Korean War the holiday was renamed Veteran's Day, so that we could honor all who have served, and are serving our country. It is a beautiful gesture and last year at this time no less than 3 people came up to me at work and said thank you and shook my hand. It literally brought tears to my eyes. I have a wish though, i wish that on this day we honor each other as veterans and active military personnel, and take pride in our service that we also remember that hope, that desire, that nations may one day settle their conflicts without use of arms. That one day we will honor this day as was originally intended, as a day to look back and say.. Remember when.

Happy Birthday, Marines

On November 10, 1775, the Continental Congress commissioned Samuel Nichols to raise two battalions of Continental Marines. The first recruiting station for what would become the United States Marine Corps was Tun Tavern, a bar in Philadelphia where you can still find cold beer today.

Two hundred thirty years later, Marines serve all over the world and celebrate our birthday and our heritage as "the few, the proud." We just had our cake cutting ceremony here at the Manpower Plans and Policy Division, which I realized was really a worship service.

The word "worship" comes from the Old English weothscipe, the shape of worth. So when we worship, we honor that which has worth - that which is worthy - that which we value. A Marine Corps birthday celebration honors not only our past and history, but the "living tradition" of our Corps.

The liturgy of the cake cutting ceremony centers, as might be expected, on the cutting of a birthday cake. It is much more, however, as the first piece of cake is presented to the oldest Marine present, who in turn presents the second piece to the youngest. This symbolizes the continuity of our Corps and the "passing of the torch" from generation to generation.

The "holy scripture" of this service is the reading of Major General John A. Lejeune's birthday message, written on November 1, 1921, and read each year on this occasion. The "sermon" is the message from the current Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Michael W. Hagee.

The service concludes with the benedictory playing of the Marines' Hymn, and we all get a piece of cake and some punch, in a symbolic "communion of the Corps."

I've belonged to this Church of the Holy Corps for over 17 years. During the last four years, as I've questioned my journey in life, my career choice, and where I'm going, I've often felt like a priest who's lost the faith. On a day like today, however, I feel the same pride I felt when I became a Marine, and tears well up unbidden when I hear the Marines' Hymn. As I near the end of this career, I wonder if I'll always have this reaction on November 10th.

I guess I probably will - as they say, once a Marine, always a Marine.

Semper Fidelis, and Happy Birthday.