Expanding Horizons

The Legacy of William Blake

Whilst believing in God and Jesus, The English artist and poet, William Blake, despised what the established (Anglican) Church of his day had become. This dichotomy can be found in the quotation from Blake with which Pauline concluded today's reading - "All deities reside in the human breast". This would resonate with many Unitarians.
The Church, in Blake's lifetime (1757 – 1827) had reinforced its institutional power over people's lives with moralising, chastising, and confining dogma about "Heaven and Hell", against a social backdrop of the emerging evils of the Industrial Revolution. This contrasted with William Blake's creative legacy, reflecting his child-like exuberance and delight in life.
It's this dichotomy that Kris explored with us today. Kris's reflections included heart-felt readings from some of Blake's best-loved poetry, supported by the poet's own visual illustrations. William Blake found the answers to life - not in the confines of religious dogma but in human passions, joys, and the soaring of the creative imagination, expressed in Art and Poetry. Not to be missed!

The Dead Sea Scrolls

Today, Kris reflects on the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls by a Bedouin shepherd boy searching for a lost sheep in 1947. They were found stored in sealed earthenware jars in caves near Wadi Qumran, the historic site of a strict Jewish fundamentalist community - "Men of the Light", sectarian, male-dominated. Written between 200 and 80 BCE, multiple copies of these restored scrolls of the Jewish Tanakh, allowed comparisons with the scriptures of the Old Testaments and the Tanakh, today. The corroborative relevance of these scrolls to our Judeo-Christian heritage makes them, arguably - the most significant archaeological discovery of the 20th Century. Over a third of the scrolls were not scriptural in nature. They included Essene community rules, astrological calendars, hymns, psalms, apocalyptic and apocryphal (non-canonical) biblical works, and a giant "jigsaw puzzle" of scroll fragments to be pieced together. Some scrolls were written in code. While no New Testament gospels were found in the caves, Kris points to contextual links with the New Testament such as an early "forerunner" to The Beatitudes that Richard read to us today, from the Dead Sea Scrolls. These may have influenced Jesus' Beatitudes, in the "Sermon on the Mount" (Matthew 5:3-12) or the "Sermon on the Plain" (Luke 6:20-38) - so beloved by Christians and many Unitarians today. Kris also refers to other New Testament comparisons with the Dead Sea Scrolls. One scroll - made of copper, purports to describe the location of a vast cache of buried bullion - gold and silver, as yet undiscovered! Or was it a spiritual treasure to be found by those who searched? Listen on for more of Kris's reflections on the significance and relevance of these "Dead Sea Scrolls". They have inspired more than a film of two!

Early Christianities

Our "Story for All Ages" today is a modern Unitarian parable to illustrate the all-to-human phenomenon of the proliferation of ideologies - in this instance the "Christianities" and Christian leaders' attempts to re-define God - the "God" of this parable being Female.
Kris, in his overview of the first few centuries of Christian belief, begins his exploration of the "Christianities" with Jesus, in Judea - then Paul (Saul) and the myriad of variants that have proliferated down through the ages - each, like Gnosticism - with its own understanding of "God".
I was left wondering that somewhere further along from Kris's exploration of these first three centuries of "Christianities" today, we will find us Unitarians, Unitarian-Universalists and Universalists and the spiritual pathways and understandings of the nature of God that we share with those around us - that give our lives new and fuller meaning.
And while it's a journey we share in the company of other Unitarians, perhaps there are as many "pathways to the divine" as there are those people who seek to tread them? Do listen on!

The Voice

Kris's address, today - Sunday, 5th February 2023 is on "The Voice", one of two outcomes from the 2017 "Uluru Statement from the Heart". "The Voice" proposes a democratically elected group of Aboriginal Leaders who would be consulted and heard in matters that affect Aboriginal people at all three levels of Government.

The second outcome was a "Truth Telling Commission" where Aboriginal people seek reconciliation with all other Australians via a "Makarrata" an "act of peacemaking and reconciliation - after struggle", which will unite all Australians in mutual respect and lead to recognition of "Aboriginal Sovereignty" - a concept that Kris recognises will be challenging to many Australians. Today, Kris briefly summarises the historical events leading to "The Voice": - European conquest, legal recognition by the High Court of co-existing aboriginal sovereignty in the Eddie Mabo decision, Paul Keating's Redfern Statement and the Uluru "Statement from the Heart" - all leading us to the approaching referendum to amend the Australian Constitution. Kris is not telling us how to vote but this address will provide us with a useful framework for decision-making. Listen on!

Moving up a grade.

On lighting our chalice this morning, Kris reflects on the flame that represents the vitality of life - the energy that motivates all of us - especially the vitality of all the young people of our Unitarian Community. Today's "Blessing of the Schoolbags" is traditionally observed just before the new school year (2023) and is dedicated to the children. Kris interviews them about their hopes for the 2023 school year and Miranda reads a Unitarian Universalist "Credo" that reinforces today's theme of youth, vitality, hope and renewal - for us spiritually. It's a Credo that reaches beyond the "benediction" of our 7 Principles to opportunities for our spiritual growth.
Kris reflects that in meeting the challenges of 2023 - we are no different from the children. "Crisis can be opportunity!" During the hard times - whenever we endure disappointment, loss and grief, there will be lessons leading us towards peace, forgiveness, self-fulfillment, spiritual growth and enlightenment. Kris expands on some of these lessons and asks the question: "Will we be "moving up a grade" in 2023 - and beyond - spiritually?!"

Reflections on Visiting Palestine

In lighting our chalice this morning, Kris observes that our chalice is a symbol of freedom and liberty, not just our own - but a symbol of our commitment - as Unitarians, to freedom and liberty around the world - where others may not be so fortunate. Kris's address today is a sequel to Eran's Address - two weeks earlier, about the largely unpublicised peace movement in Israel-Palestine, and especially the dialogue between younger generations of Israelis and Palestinians and their hopes for freedom and justice for all who occupy this (Abrahamic) holy land.
Kris's focus this week is on the plight of Palestinians, as observed by him on a tour in 2006. It includes his 'story for all ages' which is especially heartfelt. Whereas Israeli and Palestinian leaders see rapprochement as an impossibility, younger generations of Israelis and Palestinians hold onto hope. Perhaps it will be generational change that will lead to rapprochement and this "holy land" will one day be truly free, just and equitable for all who live there.

”I have a dream”

The Rev. Geoffrey Usher, revisiting us from Sydney as a former Minister of this Church, soon challenges us on "Martin Luther King Jr. Day" with a question:-
"When faced with threat, danger, injustice, oppression - and despite  all our fears, will we have the morality and courage to speak truly, act justly, choose wisely and love generously?"
Today's music is provided by organist, Andrew Usher - who plays our historic but aging pipe organ, one of Adelaide's oldest, reassembled here from our Wakefield Street church soon after it was demolished in 1970.

Peace in the Promised Land

Born in an Israeli kibbutz, Eran - a member of our church shares his turbulent family history. It’s a history wracked by the clamour of war and religious conflict - and it's heartfelt. But Eran also points to the peace-makers - both Arabs and Jews, who are working purposefully to bring peace once again to Israel-Palestine.
"How might we Unitarians support these peacemakers?" Eran asks.

What’s New?

Today, being New Year's Day, and inspired by the Unitarian Hysterical Society, Jennie's "down-to-earth" approach to the challenges of the New Year avoids inducing in us a state verging on terminal depression - where we feel overwhelmed and where human inertia on challenging issues ensures the status quo.
Jennie's New Year's Day address is punctuated with funny anecdotes that will help us to put our New Year resolutions into perspective - thereby making them more manageable and achievable. This is Jennie at her best! Not to be missed!

The Christmas Story For All

In our service this Christmas morning, our Minister, Kris reflects on the relevance of the biblical accounts in Luke and Matthew of the birth of the baby boy, Jeshua, even to those who might question its authenticity. Whether fact, metaphor, - or myth, the Christmas Story, despite the clamour of Santa Claus - continues to shape civil society. It's a gift freely given to us all. Listen on to how we might draw from it - meaning, insight, wisdom, inspiration and direction for how we might better live our lives.