Expanding Horizons

Same Again but Different: In Praise of Diversity.

This service - recorded on Sunday, 23rd August, 2020 in the Unitarian Meeting House, Adelaide is conducted by our Minister, Rev. Rob MacPherson who is also the Chaplain at Pembroke School.
Following our annual "Meditation on the Leaf", Rob praises the diversity to be found within Nature and within humanity.  He begins by asking why Nature offers a "zillion" kinds of leaves? Why such diversity ... in Nature ... in us? Why should human beings embody such diversity...and embrace it?
Rob maintains that diversity exists for its own sake as part of the ongoing process of creation, but it also points us to certain clear moral directions. Listen on!

The Golden Rule

Today's memorable address is on The Golden Rule ("Do unto others…") and the Parable of the Good Samaritan - used by Jesus to answer the perennial question "… and who is my neighbour". It was prepared  by Jennie Dyster, our President and in her absence - it was read by Peter Whitham.

Janet Whitham read today's "Story for All  Ages" and in the context of the global plight of refugees fleeing poor governance, Janet  also read an extract of a speech by the UK's Lord Griffith - a contemporary response to the question - "And who is a Good Samaritan today".
Margaret Lambert also provided some memorable piano music - "vignettes" of which are included in this recording of our service, given in Adelaide on Sunday 9th August, 2020. Listen on - and enjoy!

Celebration and Friendship

In our first service held in the Unitarian Church, Adelaide on Sunday 2nd August, 2020 - following the long Covid-19 Pandemic lockdown, two of our members - Janet and Peter Whitham step up to lead a service for Jennie Dyster, our President. Today's service is a celebration of the friendship and fellowship to be found within our Unitarian Community in Adelaide. Janet reflects on the many kindnesses extended to members who are - or have been ill or who returned to our midst from overseas after mandatory self-isolation and lock-down.
Janet also welcomes and introduces her friend, Liz - our guest poet who reads us a poem she wrote during lockdown and inspired by the "Black Lives Matter" protests. Listen on!

All Joy be Yours!

On Sunday 19th July, 2020, with the Church still in lockdown due to the CoVID-19 pandemic, Christine Mason and Jennie Dyster use Zoom video conferencing as the medium to engage in a conversation about the benefits of a positive mental attitude - especially during the hard times - when the going gets tough. Entitled - "All Joy be Yours!" Christine and Jennie  describe the synergy to be drawn from the well-springs of both Joy and Happiness. 'The mind is everything: you are what you think'. Listen on!

Stepping Out

This talk was prepared for Sunday, June 12th, 2020 whilst the church was still in lockdown. It was led by Jennie Dyster, our President and was entitled "Stepping Out". 'Solvitur anbulando': "solved by walking" - muling over a dilemma or a puzzle being one reason to go on a good long walk. Noel Coward liked long walks - especially when they were taken by people he disliked. But why is bushwalking so beloved by many Unitarians? In this talk, Jennie explores the benefits of bushwalking and provides a little recent history of this pastime within the community of the Unitarian Church of South Australia. Listen on!

"'Taint necessarily so".

Today's service, prepared for Sunday, June 28th, 2020 whilst the church is still in lockdown - is led by Jennie Dyster, our President.

Jennie commences her address with the words of a song that is familiar to many. This address is entitled "'taint necessarily so!" - a quote from the character, Sportin'life in Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess.

This podcast is part II of an exploration of two different modes of thinking speaking and acquiring knowledge. These are Logos and Mythos.
In part 1, ironically entitled 'Give that old-time religion' Jennie framed the ascendancy of logic at the expense of myth, as a loss of the ability to process the more elusive puzzling and tragic aspects of human existence.
In Part 2, (this address) entitled "'Taint necessarily so" she explores the dangers of conflating the two modes of thought and the wisdom of keeping them both going, but separate.
'The mind is everything: you are what you think'.

Give me that old time religion

Today's service, prepared for Sunday, June 14th, 2020 whilst the church is still in lockdown is led by Jennie Dyster, our President. Jennie commences her address with the words of a hymn that may be familiar to some.

"Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
That’s good enough for me!"

A singularly un-Unitarian opening, you might think? So, what is the appeal of that song for a post-Christian Unitarian? Jennie really had to think about this. She writes: "It’s not a hankering after 1950s Methodism with its Sunday School anniversaries and picnics and church camps. It ain’t hankering after the simple life. I like my car, my "handy" - as the Germans so delightfully call their mobile phones, my digitally streamed music, my laptop, my smart tv. …. I think it’s more related to my addiction to Bach cantatas, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus and Requiem or Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater. All of these are bulging with a theology I do not accept or condone. It’s not only my love for music that seduces me. The pull of this music is religious.

"So why am I still attracted to it?" Jennie asks? Listen on for her answer!

New Wisdoms to Secure Our Future

John maintains that the current Covid-19 virus is nature's way of controlling the "human pandemic". He also also explore how new wisdoms found within the "toolbox" of our seven Unitarian Universalist Principles may guide us towards a future that is sustainable.

Ancient wisdoms that bind us together

John reflects broadly on the ancient, Old and New Testament wisdoms that have helped shape our laws and bind western nations into cohesive nation states. In the context of Anzac Day, he ponders the disparity between belief and practice in professedly Christian countries, and their historical preparedness to open their war chests to wage war against each other, despite the moral imperatives of these ancient wisdoms for peace.

The Baltimore Story

In the context of our search for a replacement minister, Jennie tackles the issue of women in leadership roles - hitherto the domain of men. The example she focusses on in her talk today is the career of Marin Alsop, music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra whose career saw her become a pioneer in what was then - a non-traditional area and rose to be one of the leading figures in classical music around the world.

As a young girl, Marin Alsop decided that she wanted to be a conductor. On being told women were not meant to be orchestral conductors, Marin was even more determined to become one. She became a protégé of Leonard Bernstein and went on to become the Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 2005, the first female conductor to head a major American orchestra. In 2009 she was named Musical America’s Conductor of the Year. She is just coming to the end of her 14 years as Musical Director.

Jennie raises the following issues:

• How do we feel about women in leadership positions - at work and in the pulpit?
• Do we judge them differently from men?
• What obligations do we have to speak if people criticise their fashion sense?
• How do we handle a mildly worded "it's just not my cup of tea!"

Listen on!