400 DAYS (till we Move-In to our new building)
View the day by day demolition and remodeling progress, with pictures,
at http://www.uueugene.org/400days.html and/or join the 400 Days listserv

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THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 2     
* Thundereggs Social 2-4pm at Tsunami Books (back room) on Willamette - All women welcome, especially those young at heart.  Contact: Elena Rae
* Calm Abiding Meditation 6-6:45pm B
* Children's Religious Ed Committee 6-8pm Rm2
* Executive Committee 7-9:30pm SH
* BPOC at Sandburg Center (yes) at 7pm 
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FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 3
The church office is closed today through Monday, Sept 6
* Architect meetings 10am-4pm SH
* Breakfast Cluub - First Friday Art Walk, 5:30-8:30pm Details below
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SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 4
* Joys and Sorrows - Contact Worship Associate chair: Jake Walsh 541-342-6184 or jakewlsh@msn.com by Saturday noon to leave a message about your joys or sorrows to be announced at tomorrow's Sunday service.  
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Sunday, September 5, from 9:00am-1:00pm
Labor of Love - Annual Church Work Party
(followed by progress report from BPOC)
     This is Labor Day weekend, so do join us at our 40th & Donald church for our traditional Labor of Love work party. Many hands make light work, but the real benefit is getting to know other UUs as you work with them one on one. Come enjoy the day with old friends and make new ones. Stay the whole time or drop in for as long as you can. All are invited to help spruce up our building and grounds for the beginning of our new church year! It's amazing what we can accomplish in a few hours! There will be all kinds of projects, so it won't be hard to find one that suits your preferences and abilities. Appropriate jobs will be available for everyone, including kids 6 and older. There will be grounds cleanup and other outdoor projects, or you can choose inside work. R.E. needs help with their projects, too. Childcare will be available for kids 5 and younger. If your specialty is feeding people, bring your favorite food, because we will reward ourselves with a potluck at high noon. Rev. Alicia Forsey will offer a blessing before the potluck.
     Right after the potluck lunch, the Building Project Oversight Committee (BPOC) will give an informal progress report and update on how the demolition of the new building is coming along. One hundred different individuals have already volunteered in excess of 1,000 hours to the demolition.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 6               - LABOR DAY
Church office hours: Tues—Fri, 9am—noon
* SJUUCE Potluck and First Meeting of Fall, 5:30pm at the home of Sue Craig. Please call 541-607-0204 for directions(!) and to carpool. We have some great plans, and you can bring even more. Details below
* Sound Help is needed - contact Ruth Ross (ruthken1@pacinfo.com or 541-686-1549) to be trained on the sound equipment - before the 12th of September, if you can.  THANK YOU!
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TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 7
Church office hours: Tues—Fri, 9am—noon 
* Morning Doves - Birders and Breakfast group meets 8am
* Needlecrafters - September 7 and 21, 2010 1-3 pm SH  We will meet the first and third Tuesday of each month from 1-4pm to sew and knit items to sell at a November/December bazaar as a church fundraiser. Details below
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WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 8  
* Bush and Tree Identification Outing - time not set, so contact Bill Rodgers wrodgers@umich.edu & 541-654-0405 with your ideas.   More below      
* Order of Service deadline 11am to <publications@uueugene.org>
* UUpDate deadline: due by noon to <happenings@uueugene.org>
* Chamber Singers Rehearsal 5:15-6:45pm S
* Adult R.E. Committee 6:30pm B
* CUUPs Dark Moon - Contact Elan 541-844-2339 More below
* Open Men's Group 7pm Room 6 at the olde church.  Steve Goldman will lead the discussion. All men welcome. Contact:  Bob Coleman  541-461-0956
* Sanctuary Choir rehearsal 7:00-9:00pm S
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THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 9     
* Thundereggs Social 2-4pm at Tsunami Books (back room) on Willamette - All women welcome, especially those young at heart.  Contact: Elena Rae
* Calm Abiding Meditation 6-6:45pm B
* NO Board Meeting tonight
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FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 10
Church office hours: Tues—Fri, 9am—noon
* Women's Alliance Potluck Luncheon -  12noon, Social Hall. Contact: Kathleen Dillon at 541-689-1620 or kadydid@juno.com
* Interweave Dinner and a Movie Night - Potluck at 6pm, Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil movie at 7pm S/SH  Details below
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SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 11
* Joys and Sorrows - Contact Worship Associate chair: Jake Walsh 541-342-6184 or jakewlsh@msn.com by Saturday noon to leave a message about your joys or sorrows to be announced at tomorrow's Sunday service. 
* Interfaith Prayer Service  6:45pm on the 11th of every month since 9/11/2001
     Please join us at First Christian Church in downtown Eugene to experience what is possible when we come together with intent to accept our neighbors and the sacred path that they follow. The purpose of the Interfaith Prayer and Reflection Service is to bring together people from different faith communities in the spirit of harmony, peace, and growing appreciation, and to nurture confidence in the universal power of love and unity. More information at http://interfaith.ipower.com/11service.html

**Tomorrow, we return to two services on Sunday morning, at 9am & 11am **
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September 12th — at 9am & 11am
Gathering the Waters
Green Sanctuary and Candee Cole, DRE
     We begin the church year with the water communion, a Unitarian Universalist ritual of collecting waters from the sacred -- or at least special -- places in people's lives. Bring a small sample of water from a place of meaning for you, and we'll bless this water for use at rites of passage throughout the year, such as baby blessings. Intergenerational.       

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13
* Women's Chalice Choir begins rehearsals 7:00-8:30pm S

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I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing. ~ Agatha Christie

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WHAT'S NEW/HOT? .
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  ^^^^^ This is your new church!  Click on photos for more! ^^^^^^^

• DUCKS VS UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE: UU LODGINGS - Sept 11, in Knoxville!
     Attention UofO Fans — Are you coming to Knoxville for the game with UT on Sept. 11th? You might consider staying in a TVUUC church member's home through our Bed and Breakfast Program. We are less expensive than a hotel (only $30 to $60 per night) and offer a great breakfast and a chance to meet like-minded folks. And we would love to have you visit one of our Sunday services. Interested? Contact B&B Coordinator Mike McDonough at MikeMcDTN@aol.com or 1-423-562-8017 for more information.
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• BREAKFAST CLUUB - Friday  September 3rd from 6pm(ish)-8:30pm
      First Friday Art Walk.  Here's the website. http://www.lanearts.org/communityarts/firstfriday/   We're thinking of meeting at about 6pm at Harlequin Beads and Jewelry (1027 Willamette St). We are 20s, 30s, and 40s who enjoy socializing with our children around. Consider joining our listserv to learn what we are doing next. Contact: Dana Dedrick dana.c.dedrick@gmail.com
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• LABOR OF LOVE WORK PARTY -- 9am to 1pm on SUNDAY, September 5.
     The focus of this work party will be our 40th & Donald church and grounds, which we still own and love. After lunch, the BPOC (Building Projuct Oversight Committee) will offer an informal presentation about our progress with the new building. Contact: Ken Ross ruthken1@pacinfo.com or 541-686-1549.
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• SJUUCE - Monday Sept 6, 2010 offsite at 5pm
     SJUUCE stands for Social Justice Unitarian Universalist Church Eugene. If you would like to see what we did last year, click on annual report. Those are the facts, but come and help us fill in the humanity, the care and the effort to make this a really solid year of achievement. We did a lot then, and look forward, with you, to doing some very interesting things this year. Our first “meeting” will be a potluck at the home of Sue Craig. Please call 541-607-0204 for directions and to carpool. We will talk about our goals and dreams for this next year, and we would love to have “Newbies” come and get to know us and to help with ideas.
     The CROP walk will be the 3rd of October, and will be fully endorsed and supported by SJUUCE. See additional information in the newsletter.
     Also note the new statewide group that will be keeping UU's in the loop on our State Legislative level. That first meeting will be at the Salem UU Church from 10am-3pm on the 30th of October. Please call Sue Craig if you are interested in attending this. It is open to all!
     Do come and participate with us. This is much of what UU's are about!  SJUUCE will meet once a month on first Mondays at 7pm.
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• NEW from ADULT RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
     * For the fall we will offer another session of the very popular “End of Life: Have It Your Way” on six Thursdays, 10 to noon, Oct. 7-Nov. 11. This session is currently full, but you may call the office 541-686-2775 to be put on the waiting list or to express future interest.
     * We plan to present the curriculum "Building Your Own Theology" in Oct.-Nov., day and time to be determined. "Building Your Own Theology" is based on the assumption that everyone is their own theologian. This classic UU adult education program will invite you to develop your own personal credo. If you are interested in taking this course, please contact A.R.E. chair, Barb Prentice (barbprentice@comcast.net) and watch for details in the Oct. newsletter.
     * We also have been in touch with our new interim minister, Rev. Alicia Forsey, and we look forward to her offering a course in the fall or spring. She will determine the subject after she arrives and gets to know us better.
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• CUUPs - Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans
     The people in CUUPs come from many faith traditions. Each tradition varies from the others, sometimes just a bit and other times a great deal. These discussions have done a lot to bring understanding to the people. These discussions are not limited to Earth Based traditions. We would love it if people of other Religions (Christian, Buddhist etc) would join us and share how this is experienced in their Pathway.  Watch the Calendar-lite above and learn more at http://www.uueugene.org/CUUPs/home.html 
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• NEEEDLECRAFTERS - September 7 and 21, 2010 1-3 pm SH 
    Starting in September, we will meet the first and third Tuesday of each month from 1-4 PM in the Social Hall. We will sew and knit items to sell at a November/December bazaar as a church fundraiser. I have sewing machines, lots of material, yarn, embellishments, patterns, iron, ironing and cutting boards. Sign up after the church services and/or come to the next meeting on September 7. Sigrid Lambro ssiglamb12@msn.com (541) 345-3780
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• BUSH AND TREE IDENTIFICATION OUTING - September 8, 2010
     I don’t know about you, but I so frequently see a familiar-looking tree or plant, but can’t remember its common or scientific name and have trouble finding it in identification guides or books. This outing can help!  The outing will be led by Peggy Robinson (a UU from the 1980s), who was active in the local Sierra Club group some 20 years ago and who offered to lead such an outing as a contribution to a silent auction for the benefit of that group. I made the high bid, and she said that I could invite others to join us on the outing. She promised that she would offer tricks to make it easier to remember the names of the plants we see. The date is set – Wednesday, Sept. 8 – but the time and place are still open. One possibility is Mt. Pisgah. So let me know soon if you are interested, and if so whether certain times of the day work better than others for you, and offer suggestions about good places to go. Bill Rodgers wrodgers@umich.edu and 541-654-0405
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• INTERWEAVE DINNER AND A MOVIE NIGHT - Friday, Sept 10 Potluck at 6pm, Movie at 7pm S/SH
     Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil  - A tale of Savannah’s eccentricities focuses on a murder and the subsequent trial of Jim Williams: self made man, art collector, antiques dealer, and semi-closeted homosexual. John Kelso a magazine reporter is intrigued by Williams from the start, but his curiosity is piqued when he meets Jim’s violent, young and sexy lover, Billy. Later that night, Billy is dead, and Kelso stays on to cover the murder trial... Contact: Marilyn Junkins  mdjunkins@comcast.net
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• ALL-CHURCH FAMILY POTLUCK - Friday Sept 17, Harvest Share
     Join us for the All Church Family Potluck every third Friday, in the fellowship hall and sanctuary of the olde church. Dinner begins at 6:30 pm., often followed by an activity, concluding by 9pm. Bring a potluck food item that would serve 6 (Main dish, vegetable and/or dessert). Coffee, tea and juice provided. In addition to the regular potluck food item, you may also bring extras from your harvest or a favorite recipe to share.
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• FUNDRAISING -
     Presently we are planning Crafts/Bazaar Sat. Dec. 4th. This will be a great time for people to get gifty items for the Holidays, or to just find that special something you simply cannot live without. We also hope to use this to advertise UU to the public. The day would be complete, if you would get on the phone right now and offer your items, help, organizational talents, etc., to make this day a great event! The number to call is 541-607-0204.   Brian Lewis and Sue Craig co-chairs.
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• NEW WAY TO JOIN A SISTER CIRCLE!
     Sister Circles are groups of women who get together on a regular basis to share with each other. The types of things shared depend on the members of the Sister Circle. We have developed a new form for women to fill out when they are interested in joining a Sister Circle. This form will be available in the Social Hall beginning September 12th. We're also looking for a new coordinator. If you have questions about Sister Circles or the coordinator position, contact Vicky Scheuerell 541-484-9305 or vscheuerell@hotmail.com
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• THE CARING COMMITTEE WANTS YOU!
     The Caring Committee (just two of us right now) would like to thank all those who submitted the form for volunteers giving us our data bank of people available when needed in time of Caring Committee needs. The form is available for anyone interested. The committee would like to involve a few more people to learn about the nuts and bolts of the committee. These folks would be called committee members. This does not mean attending monthly meetings. The committee has not had a scheduled meeting in months yet we survive and prosper! This invitation is in the interest of acquiring a few folks to strengthen the committee. Please contact Bob Coleman 541-461-0956 or Chuck Wagar 541-543-1489.
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• NEW!   CHALICE LIGHTERS
     Our Chalice Lighter team took a bit of a break over the summer, but will be back recruiting new members this fall. Word from the Pacific Northwest District office is that they are now asking for a minimum of $15 per call letter rather than $10. This is the first increase since the program was started more than 20 years ago. The administrative costs have increased and there is more need for help being requested by the member congregations who participate. We need about 40 more members in order for our church to apply for a Chalice Lighter grant, because at least 30% of our membership must be members. You can sign up online at pnwd.org. New brochures explaining the program and reflecting the new rate are due off the presses soon. To learn more about Chalice Lighters, see either Bjorn Olson, Judie Hansen or Brian Lewis.
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• OCTOBER USED BOOK SALE - October 1-3, 2010
     Start saving books for the Used Book Fundraiser. It's not too soon to volunteer - the chair person has a broken leg, remember...  Ruth Duemler <ruthduemler@comcast.net>
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• CLUTTERBUSTING GARAGE SALE - October 15-16, 2010
     Our next all church garage sale is Friday and Saturday, October 15 and 16, so start setting aside things to donate. Our last sale brought in $1,492.84 and we thank everyone who helped make that possible. All proceeds go to the church general fund.
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I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice. ~ Theodore Parker 2010 is his bicentennial anniversaty

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CHILDREN'S RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
2010-11 Theme: PEACE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

• SEEKING TEACHERS TO WORK WITH OUR CHILDREN AND YOUTH
      Would you like to spend more time with our lovely kids this next year, in our Peace and Social Justice (P&SJ) curriculum? In our P&SJ year, we spend a lot of time doing FUN activities around building character such as: living peacefully, communicating well, ...as well as working on projects to benefit the church and community. Volunteers work two Sundays a month at one service and get training and quarterly check in meetings. Often volunteers will volunteer at one service and attend the other ~

We currently need:
4 teachers in preschool ages 3-5
8-12 teachers in K-5th grade (groupings have not yet been set)
4 advisors in Middle School

• TEACHER ORIENTATION weekend is September 10 and 11th. Friday night the 10th will be a potluck with everyone together for introductions, religious education philosophy, and updates on the program and new minister. Saturday the 11th we will meet in sections with a new teacher orientation from 1:00-2:30, all teachers 2:30-4:00 and finally the Curriculum meeting from 4:00-5:00. Childcare is provided by reservation and snacks will be available to adults and children. Please RSVP for childcare to Candee Cole by September 4th. Contact Candee at 541-686-2775 or uucedre@gmail.com. It DOES take the whole village...YOU keep our program fun, engaging, and a place for children to explore their spiritual identity!

• WELCOME TO OUR NEW RE ASSISTANT
     We welcome Jen-Lin Hogden as our new Religious Education Assistant! Jen-Lin comes to us with a lot of office experience as well as time spent with children and volunteering for non-profits. Her joyful energy is welcome in the RE program! More info to come in the October newsletter!
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• VOLUNTEERING in Religious Ed 
What is my commitment if I volunteer?
     ~ A volunteer commits to twice per month for 5 months at one service.
     ~ Once per month, a volunteer leads the class with a pre-written lesson plan. The other day they only assist.
     ~ Attend occasional volunteer meetings to build skills, make connections, and learn about program updates.
What if I have never taught before???
     ~ Candee offers a training/orientation on how to work with kids and youth, plus there are volunteer meetings to stay connected, get ideas. In addition, you will have direct support from the DRE and RE Committee on curriculum and classroom management. The lessons are easy to use, and many give presentation suggestions.
I'm not a parent...
      ~ We seek classroom volunteers who are male, female, elders, young adults (18+), ...and everyone in between to offer a safe and diverse program. Parents can’t do it all and we want our kids to have experiences with many perspectives!
Candee Cole, Director of Religious Education   uucedre@gmail.com
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• RELIGIOUS EDUCATION (RE)
Middle and High school youth groups meet at 11:00 in rooms 5 and 6 starting September 19th.

September 5    Labor of Love Work-Party 9am-1pm
September 10-11 - RE Volunteer Orientation

Sundays at 9am and 11am 
September 12 - Intergenerational service, Coming of Age Class
September 19 - Teacher Dedication Ceremony,  First Day of RE Classes
       Middle and High school youth groups meet at 11am in rooms 5 and 6
September 24-26  - Coming of Age Vision Quest

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• MORE ABOUT OUR INTERIM MINISTER     
     Rev. Dr. Alicia Forsey's webpage and background can be seen at http://pacificuu.org/fore/alicia.html  She will be with us beginning September 5, 2010.
     There will be a "Welcoming Reception" for Rev. Alicia Forsey after the second service on Sept. 19th. It will be her first Sunday in the pulpit so we want to take the opportunity for the Congregation to meet her and for her to meet us.  We ask that committees *not* set up tables in the Social Hall on Sept. 19th given that space is so limited. We will have a table with finger foods, but we want there to be room to maneuver. We are looking for Congregants to bring finger foods and/or to help us clean up afterwards. Contacts: The "Receptioneers"  
      Olga Turner: o2turner@earthlink.net 
         Dana Dedrick: dana.c.dedrick@gmail.com 
              Gil Osgood: giloz@comcast.net                                         .

• NEW HOME NEWS - 400 DAYS (till Move-In)
See  http://www.uueugene.org/400days.html or join the 400Days listserv
     Kirk and Livvie Taylor have been photographing the process and a selection of photos are also on the church website.
     If you would like to make a special donation toward the remodel of the new building, you can write a check to UUCE with "Capital Campaign" in the memo line. 

• BREAK (ROOM) DANCERS - to schedule your food donations for the workers at the new church (so it won't go to waste due to having too much), contact Marina McIntire Marina.McIntire@comcast.net or 541.434.2315.
           And THANK YOU SO MUCH!

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• COMMUNICATIONS -
   Newsletter info goes to publications@uueugene.org
   UUpDate info goes to happenings@uueugene.org
   Webpage info goes to webteam@uueugene.org
   Come get involved — Join a Listserv.  Choose a list and subscribe at http://www.uueugene.org/listservs.html --- or contact listmanager@uueugene.org for help.
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• FOR PASTORAL EMERGENCIES
    For pastoral emergencies, please contact the Pastoral Associates Coordinator, Leora White, at 541-337-5001 and/or pastoralassociates@uueugene.org and/or the office at 541-686-2775. Responses to pastoral emergencies will come from the Pastoral Associates or one of our retired ministers.
  What is a pastoral emergency?
  You or someone in your immediate family have been arrested, are being rushed to the hospital, or have been a victim of violence. You are overwhelmed with despair.  If such a situation arises, we want to be there for you without delay.
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• RESERVE A ROOM -
    Member groups please check the Web Calendar early on to ensure that a building, room, or area at our 40th & Donald church has not already been reserved on your desired date and time. NOTE:  Be SURE to cancel your reservation ASAP if your plans change (so Matt, our custodian, is not scheduled needlessly).
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• CHURCH OFFICE HOURS  Tues—Fri, 9am—noon.

• NEXT NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION SERIES - Two Saturdays, the 16th and 23rd of October, 2010.
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• UUA
   GENERAL ASSEMBLY - June 22-26: 2011 Charlotte, NC  -   
The 2011 Ware Lecture will feature author and theologian Karen Armstrong!! More Info  Start planning/saving to attend now. 
   BOARD MINUTES - most recent (June 2010):  http://tinyurl.com/3xowklz
   UUWF (Unitarian Universalist Women's Federation) newsletter is now on their website. http://www.uuwf.org/newsletter.html

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People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. ~ Maya Angelou

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RELIGION/ETHICS NEWS
from Far and Wide

Celebration marks 20th anniversary  
The UU partner church movement began in 1990 when UUA President William F. Schulz and UUA Moderator Natalie Gulbrandsen led a delegation to Romania that included members of the U.S. Congress and Canadian Parliament. It was Schulz’s intent to confront the Ceausescu regime about a plan to destroy thousands of Romanian villages...   A month before Schulz and his party left for Romania, however, Ceausescu was overthrown and executed...   The Rev. Dr. Leon Hopper, then minister of the East Shore Unitarian Church in Bellevue, Wash., recalled receiving a description of what that early partnership was to look like: “The two congregations will exchange greetings, pictures, letters, children’s creations, etc. The specific needs of [the] Transylvanian church will be made known to the UUA ‘sister.’ Perhaps eventually there can even be exchanges between ministers or laity,” he wrote in a message sent to the anniversary gathering...  http://tinyurl.com/38zczcf
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Forgiveness - by Amina Wadud
...This is ... the Islamic paradigm of forgiveness when one offends another: Stop the offense, seek forgiveness from the one offended, and only after it is granted, then, do the astaghfir-Allah.  Yes, to err is human but apparently forgiveness is mutually shared: between the human and the divine. I think this is why so many offenses in human history have not been resolved: no one took responsibility for the offense, made it right, and addressed those offended. Sometimes, we think we can just redo the mistake and it should go away. But a hole is left open because something very human in the act of forgiveness is left out. Today we commemorate the famous march on Washington, let us hope the offense of racism finds such recompense in America.
http://tinyurl.com/327seo8
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The Trials of Janie Spahr  -
Janie Spahr, Presbyterian minister, goes on church trial for marrying LGBT couples during the period when it was legal in California ... Rev. Spahr and her legal team believe there is no explicit prohibition of same-sex marriage in the church’s Book of Order; but she may face an official rebuke, or a temporary suspension of her credentials if the church disagrees with her... The church is also dealing with contradictory notions of what it means to meet pastoral needs... “The church used to ask me to stay in the closet over my sexual orientation,” Spahr says, “but now they are asking me to deny the faith part. I was called, God called me, and sent me into the LGBT community, then I am not supposed to take these relationships seriously?”
http://tinyurl.com/25hartc
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Theodore Parker, radical theologian, heretical prophet
... For a long time, we Unitarian Universalists have warred among ourselves about the virtues of free religion unencumbered by political or social activism... For Parker, such social action was rooted theologically in the love of God and expressed in daring support for human freedom.    All too often in our movement, talk about the divine takes on the quality of caricature, as we declare God irrelevant or worse, insulting our sisters and brothers in other faiths and absenting ourselves from serious consideration in the great moral debates of our time. In restoring to contemporary memory the life and struggles of one of our greatest ministers and theologians, [we are presented] an early example of a principled, liberal Unitarian Christianity. Faithful to the religion of Jesus and not the religion about Jesus, Theodore Parker’s journey brought him to a deep religious engagement in political and social action, not in spite of his faith in God, but because of it...
http://tinyurl.com/2c26fhx
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Mission Drift
... Again and again, we have to explore why we came together. Congregations need to continue to review who they are and how they will respond. What are we trying to be? What is our calling at this time and in this place? Can we make a difference? Is there a purpose for our presence? If we are unaware of the particular view through which we are looking at the world, then we do not have any true choices about what we are going to see and how we are going to respond.  Mission is the expression of the church's deep, abiding beliefs. Mission provides the major standard against which all activities, services, and decisions are evaluated. Mission is the preserver of congregational integrity...
http://www.alban.org/conversation.aspx?id=9167
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America, Home of the Free -- Except for Muslims?
...  It is a disturbing discussion. The tone is ugly; the charges are vicious. And no Christian, Jew, or other religious person can feel safe if angry mobs -- even if only virtual -- are able to stop the activities (such as the building of a mosque) of an unpopular faith.   There is no legal barrier to building the mosque and Muslim community center, called Cordoba House, in New York City. If the First Amendment means anything, the government cannot single out a particular religion for constructing a worship facility. The Free Exercise Clause would mean little if politicians could willy-nilly close down mosques -- or churches, synagogues, temples, and other religious sites.   Any attempt to block Cordoba House also would run into the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Passed by voice vote in the Republican Congress of 2000, the law targets state and local governments attempting to inhibit religious exercise through land use regulation...    http://tinyurl.com/286vh42
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On faith: Beliefnet.com is worth a try
... Your Belief-O-Matic "scores" tell you what percentage of your beliefs line up with a particular faith tradition, with non-theism and secular humanism also being possibilities. When I just took it, 100 percent of my beliefs line up with Unitarian Universalism (UU) - probably a good thing, since that is the denomination I serve. In my top 10 are Reform Judaism (73 percent), Liberal Quakerism (90 percent), Neo-Paganism (98 percent), and Mahayana Buddhism (71 percent). (Apparently, I would not make a very good Jehovah's Witness, since my belief system only lines up with 13 percent of Witnesses' beliefs.)   My agreement scores are no big surprise. A fundamental value of my faith is that there are many paths to the Holy, and that each person's religious journey is to be honored, as long as it does not create harm to others. We UUs understand that the universe is well beyond human comprehension, and that individuals and cultures will interpret Mystery differently. A religious life honors Creation; reveres the beauty and truth beyond our understanding; and feels a responsibility to serve the greater good, out of deep spiritual commitment. At best, a religious life also has a sense of humor...  http://tinyurl.com/3ynkz3z
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I Am Better than Him - by Amina Wadud
...This word istikbar occurs 40 or 50 TIMES through out the Qur’an in various forms, not just about Satan but also and mostly about human beings and their arrogance. As happens in the Satan story, istikbar is the cause of disobedience to God. It is the cause of failure to worship God, as one... Most importantly, for my work on gender and justice, it is the cause of oppressing others... If you think about it, it is pretty obvious. Oppression is an act of aggression against others’ rights to be themselves, to be different, to make other choices; particularly if they are different from the ones with the power to oppress. Istikbar says: I am better than you because I am this race; I am of this sex; I am this sexual orientation; I am this nationality; I am this religion; I am in this social economic class; I am any category of a number of things: including food consumption. Because I am this or that, then I am better than you....
http://tinyurl.com/23nysef
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Christianization of Shirley Sherrod
Colonial use of Christianity—or “Christianization”—is the employment of “Christian” rhetoric and identification to construct meaning in social and political life. This has included establishing specific conceptions of citizenship, structures of education, social roles and behaviors that simultaneously develop and inscribe hetero-patriarchy, white supremacy, and racial subjugation in policies, practices, and the imagination.  Examining Christianization during the US antebellum era, religious historian Albert Raboteau says Christianity initially had a slow start among enslaved Africans in the United States because, among other reasons, enslavers feared a common baptism would signal social equality. To resolve the dilemma Christian missionaries declared that Christianity would help better fit black persons to enslavement....
http://tinyurl.com/2u6cw22