Understanding our Supreme Courts: US and Canadian Perspectives

Feb 16, 2024 | News

In these session (origionally presented on Feb 13, 2024) our three presenters discus the ways in which our two Supreme Courts are appointed and some of the major issues with which they deal.  The decisions of these courts have powerful and sometimes unexpected effects on all our lives.

 

FACILITATOR BIOS:
Nils and Joyce (husband & wife who live in Port Townsend, WA) have offered SCOTUS overview courses for their county library for the past three years, as well as a book study of The Great Dissenter:  The Story of John Marshall Harlan, America’s Judicial Hero.  For several years before that, they offered historical and topical overviews of the Supreme Court through the local UU fellowship’s adult education program, their county library and two local Community Colleges.

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Nils Pedersen is a retired patent attorney and newly-admitted member of the WA State Bar.  His current legal interest is estate law and end-of-life legal planning.

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Joyce Francis is a retired international relations professor and long-time organizer and facilitator of adult-education programs.  She is also a member of NAUA’s Academy Advisory Board.Speakers:

Anthony (Tony) Carfagnini began practicing law in 1979 and carried on a corporate commercial, real estate, wills and estates and aboriginal law practice.ony’s professional interests and experience include business law, corporate governance, indigenous consultation and resource development, and privacy law. For over 40 years he acted as legal counsel to a number of First Nations and indigenous organizations engaged in child welfare, medical services, political advocacy, renewable energy projects, forestry and economic development.

Darwin’s Birthday

Feb 12, 2024 | News, Religious history

Today, Feb. 12, marks the 215 anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin.- 1809 – 19 April 1882

I celebrate this day because of the tremendous, work, insight and ethical wisdom of this great British scientist.  His discovery of evolutionary theory first published in the Origin of Species in 1859  solved many problems for his contemporaries. In addition it  blazed a path of discovery for all of us immersed in the interdependent web of life.

Prior to Darwin, it was hardly conceivable to image life on Earth without the omnipotent hand of a divine being to which Creation could be ascribed. Scientists then, as today, find inspiration, wonder and awe at the interdependent complexities of life on Earth. But how could a system of such complexity have arisen without a Creator?

Thus, it wasn’t logical nor technically (much less politically) possible to be atheist. Someone, or something, must have been the original creator of such a complex system. This quandary led to the rise to Deism, a belief that there was/is a Creator, but that Creator is either too busy or unwilling to interfere in human and indeed all earthly activities. Thus, petitionary prayers or adorations are both unnecessary and unfruitful.

However, with the understanding that over very long periods of time, natural selection, fuelled by environmental change, epigenetic forces and the survival of the fittest led to the evolution of life from  single celled organisms to all living things on earth today.

Darwin’s insights did not come from a single eureka moment, but rather evolved through his research, study and correspondence. He did not publish the Origin of Species until 1836 – 23 years after returning from his five year fact gathering excursions in the Southern hemisphere.  There are likely many reasons for his delay in publication. But one of these was his insight that accepting life on earth as a product of evolution and not a theist creation would be profoundly disruptive. Those who would find this challenging included his church-going wife and many in the rural community in which he lived. I think Darwin had no great desire to undermine anyone’s faith – a characteristic of Unitarians to this day. He wrote  “though I am a strong advocate for free thought on all subjects, yet it appears to me (whether rightly or wrongly) that direct arguments against Christianity & theism produce hardly any effect on the public; … It has, therefore, been always my object to avoid writing on religion, & I have confined myself to science. I may, however, have been unduly biased by the pain which it would give some members of my family, if I aided in any way direct attacks on religion.”

Darwin was able to change the deepest understandings of the nature of life but not through revelation, prayer or mysticism. Only through science, study and contemplation can we be “brought somewhat near to that great fact—that mystery of mysteries—the first appearance of new beings on this earth.” —Charles Darwin, Journal of Researches, 1845 

Darwin bravely shared in 1859 an enlightening but challenging truth that many object to – even in 2024.

Happy Birthday and thanks, Charles!

Latest Edition of the Liberal Beacon –

Feb 2, 2024 | Liberal Beacon, News

Issue #9 of the Liberal Beacon is now available,

We are currently looking for a new Editor of Liberal Beacon who has the time, desire, and some experience with layout, design, and editing. The volunteer position includes working with our current Editorial Board and other contributors to help put together this bimonthly publication in a timely fashion. If you are interested, please let us know a bit about your interest, skills and background by emailing us at nauaedboard@gmail.com. 

In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the many fascinating articles, regular features, and other offerings in Issue #9 of Liberal Beacon. 

 

Special NAUA Service on Sunday Jan. 20 2024

Jan 16, 2024 | News, Worship Service

This service features a sermon by Rev. Dr. Todd Eklof, entitled “Finding Our Way: Where Our Liberal Religion Must Go From Here”.

Rev. Eklof is the Minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Spokane,  President and Founder of the North American Unitarian Association and is now one of the preeminent champions of Liberal Religion in North America and the World.

Rev. Eklof describes his sermon as:

Somehow, over the past few decades, Unitarians and Universalists have lost our way, often demonstrating the very opposite of our purposes and principles. Now, whatever we are about must include regaining our place as am influential liberal religious voice in the world. It is not to correct others, including the UUA, nor to exist in opposition to anyone or anything.  We are here to benefit and guide others by promoting and demonstrating who we are and what we are about. In this sermon, we’ll consider more precisely what this means.

The Service begins at 10:00 PST (1:00 PM EST)

Zoom access at https://tinyurl.com/NAUAService

ALL are Welcomed!

 

A Remembrance of Rev. Dr. Finley C. Campbell

Jan 12, 2024 | Liberal Beacon, News, Religious history

Rev. Dr. Finley C. Campbell

A Remembrance of Rev. Dr. Finley C. Campbell

By Dick Burkhart, PhD

Many in the Unitarian community will have heard of and been inspired by the tireless fight for racial harmony led by the Rev. Finley Campbell. In this tribute (reprinted here from the January 2024 Liberal Beacon, Unitarian activist Dick Burkhart shares his memories of the late Dr. Finley Campbell.

I was at a plenary session of the 2017 General Assembly of the UUA in New Orleans when Finley Campbell got up to speak in protest against how former UUA President Rev. Peter Morales had been treated by the UUA Board and others in leadership after a so-called “hiring controversy”.

I too had great respect for Peter Morales from my years of justice advocacy with UUs for a Just Economic Community, and I was trying to figure out what the hell had happened and why. So when this principled black man of obvious courage spoke, defying attempts by the Moderator to shut him up, I took notice.

At the conclusion of his short speech, Finley invited attendees to join him that evening to ride with him on a New Orleans streetcar. Why? I wondered, but I was intrigued, so I took him up on that offer. Turned out that I was the only newcomer to his little group, showing that the resignation of Rev Morales wasn’t actually about the claims of racism in the hiring process, but that a powerful and ruthless faction had captured the UUA, a faction that few dared to question.

In fact, this was my first exposure to cancel culture. It turned out that Finley’s streetcar ride was just to demonstrate how much progress there had been on racial issues since the Civil Rights era of the 1960s. Namely, the streetcar was integrated – the era of Jim Crow segregation was long past, contrary to the astounding claims of this faction that little or no progress had been made. After that ride, we all went out to dinner together. That’s when Finley explained the divisions in the black leadership and I decided to join his team,

I read book after book, learning that Finley’s “multiracial unity” was deeply grounded in our UU principles, whereas the faction in power was strong, but stealthy, hiding its anti-UU ideology. Finley had not studied Critical Race Theory, but he had this faction all figured out, particularly the anti-white dogma at the heart of its supposed anti-racism.

Finley’s great strength was his eagerness to find common ground with others and to organize to defend our UU principles. He became a beacon for those had been cancelled or oppressed by what today are called woke ideologies, such as the neo-racism that was his focus.

Finley described himself as a Marxist/Christian UU, but he was fine with non-Marxists and non-Christians, showing what is today a rare strength of character. As such he became a mentor to me and many others.

We will carry forward his mission to all humanity in a time of increasing societal turmoil, propelled by escalating inequality nationally and by the surging forces of ecological and civilization collapse globally. May Finley Campbell not rest-in-peace but forever in the uplifting activism for the beloved community that he so cherished.