Hosting the Southern #Unitarian Association gathering on 1 June in the New Forest

Last Saturday, 1 June 2019, we were delighted to host the quarterly gathering of the Southern Unitarian Association.  At Burley Village Hall, nearby in the New Forest, we held a worship service and a drumming workshop for people who came from far and wide to be with us.  

The service was a flower communion, and it started with a Jewish anthem calling people to praise.  Everyone brought themselves to the circle of worship with a flower, which early on in the service was placed in a vase on the centre table.  We had words of gathering from Rev Andy Pakula and lit the Unitarian chalice candle while singing to a recorded chant by David Kent.  Our scripture for the day was from the Isha Upanishad v 1-6, speaking of the fullness of reality, the nearness of the ultimate reality, and the unity of reality.

We were reminded that our heritage as Unitarians means that we recognise there is no single, complete, entire, correct way to God.  The variety of the flowers in the centre was used as a metaphor for that.  And the meditation on the Names, shown elsewhere on this blog, was read aloud.

After some minutes of silence to listen to what was in our hearts, we had some readings.  The first was a piece by Rowan Williams on the need for stability, combined with the gifts of many different talents, if a church is to do the work of God.  The second was a poem (translator unknown) by Rainer Maria Rilke, suggesting the words God speaks to each of us as we are made.  We heard the song “Love, Serve and Remember” written and sung by John Astin, which is based on eastern teachings. (For more on John Astin and his associates see http://www.integrativearts.com )

We were invited to discuss with the person next to us our personal style of activism in the world, using the parable “Six Monks” (see here https://www.patheos.com/blogs/fieldnotesonliving/2019/04/29/the-six-monks/  )

Then we turned our minds to what the Southern Unitarian Association is - an association of congregations. So the SUA is nothing if there are no congregations.  We heard, responded to and reflected on the hopes, wishes and dreams for the SUA listed by those who were at the preceding SUA gathering.  And we were challenged by the following questions:

Why do we keep coming here?

Why do we keep going to our congregation’s gatherings

 and services?

Is it because we hope?

Is it because we get satisfaction? - if so, how and why

Is it because we get purpose?

Is it because we get clarity and order? - if so how and why

Is it a running away?

Is it a running towards?

Why do we keep coming?

Think about these questions yourself

Take them back to your congregations

Ask the same questions there

Only by sharing openly these big questions will we properly connect at a deeper level with each other

Only by sharing openly these big questions will we develop

 our congregations.

The worship closed with a meditation by Rev Tony McNeile, after which everyone collected a flower - a different flower - from the vase in the centre to take away with them.  We finished with a hymn from the green hymn book “Our Kindred Fellowships”.

Between the service and the drumming workshop there was a Climate Emergency lunch, all vegetable based, which was much enjoyed by all, whether or not they had previously eaten much vegan food.  Some of the food had been bought in from a vegan cafe in Christchurch https://www.goodintentionscafe.co.uk   There was also the opportunity to take a quiz online to assess one’s personal carbon footprint  https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/#/

The drumming workshop was led by Heike from Southbourne, and it fully lived up to its promise.  Getting absorbed in the rhythm, we found we really did stop using our thinking minds and instead went back to being creative in some unexpected ways.  Most enjoyable and thoroughly recommended. https://www.heikedrumshare.com

People felt they needed to express their appreciation for the day, so a collection was taken for the Ringwood Foodbank.

A school outing for the Didymus (Ringwood #Unitarians) group in January - an enlivening experience with the Southern Unitarian Association

We went today, as a group, to the Southern Unitarian Association gathering hosted by Edmund Kell Church, Southampton. In our worship service we were reminded that churches are there to serve people's needs. One of the key needs people have these days is to feel loved and connected, just like other animals. We watched a wonderful video reminding us of that.  Link below.  I bet you didn't know that turkeys want to be hugged.

We had some uplifting hymns and instead of candles for concerns, we were invited to use post it notes to record our dreams and hopes for ourselves, our Unitarianism and our world.
We were then treated to a splendid lunch by the Southampton Unitarians, after which we took part in some circle dancing.

Many people commented that it was a very good event and we parted knowing each other a little better, and enthused to come back next time - and maybe bring some friends with us.  And next time it's up to us from Ringwood to organise, host and run the event.  It won't be the same, but we hope it will be differently satisfying.

https://youtu.be/h97oeZp4h6M

Southern Unitarian Association

Newport Unitarian Church, 9a High St, Newport, Isle of Wight

Ringwood Unitarians count as a group in contact with the General Assembly of Free Christian and Unitarian Churches of UK, but as yet we are too new for any official status.

We are headed in a direction that will allow us to affiliate in time - we just need to grow a little more before we can join.

But unity and oneness is important to us - in our view, to take a separative stance in the spiritual life is to limit your spiritual life - so we are acting in the supposition that we belong in GA right now.  So we take to heart all that is asked of us by GA, as well as all the opportunities offered to us by GA.

One of the most important offers is to form relationships with the constituent congregations nearby, who meet together as a district association - the Southern Unitarian Association.  We're glad to have done this, and over the past year or so we have participated in the quarterly meetings and indeed have hosted one of them.

We cannot be at the next couple of meetings, but we wish all our SUA friends well, as they meet on 19 September, in Newport, Isle of Wight.

How Unitarians make it happen

If you haven't heard of Unitarians before, you may be wondering whether it's new, or a cult, or foreign, or what.  A look at the theology link on Wikipedia and the BBC website will add to what is available on the UK Unitarians website history page.  What this blog and this post are about is how Unitarians in Ringwood would fit into the national scene for Unitarians in UK.