About “The Rockin Lock-in”

I meant to post this a long time ago but it took me until now to finish it. So here it is:

On Friday February the 9th I along with a friend and fellow Ottawa Unitarian Universalist young adult (Rod ESQ) went by VIA Rail, playing a good game of travel Scrabble along the way, to the first of what looks like now will be, a series of regional over night events for Unitarian Universalist young adults. It was an event called “The Rockin Lock-in” which was hosted be the McGill University affiliated Unitarian Universalist group simply known as “The UU Crew”, and it was held at the Unitarian Church of Montreal. It went dawn from Friday evening starting with a late super of veggie chilli, backed potato and salad. In attendance was Unitarian Universalist youth mostly aged 18-25ish from Vermont, of cores Montreal and yes us two from Ottawa. It was open to Unitarian Universalists young adults (18-35) from all across Ontario, Quebec, and the northern United States, but do to it being the first of it’s kind in the aria it had only a small but cozy number of people. We where greeted by my brother a member of The UU Crew and a former member of our group “The Young Adults (AKA The Noble Birds)”. After the meal and a casual overview of the rules we did an icebreaker game. Then we all went out on to the churches front steps to start a little worship service which was on the them of “rock”, and it ended downstairs in the carpeted room called The Children’s Chapel. The worship it included the singing of a few hymns and all of us telling what we considered to be our rocks. And wen it was over a bunch of us went and looked at the Religious Education games. Their was of cores, Monopoly, Risk, and this vary cool quapertive game which I fawned called “Hugs And Tickles”. So a bunch of us went back into The Children’s Chapel and set about paying it. It was fun, but at first we ware all mocking it because we realized we ware all brought up only playing adversarial games like chess. But after a bit we all started liking it. It was a game which consisted of a series of payers which we would all tack terns moving around the bored, by rolling a pear of dice. The dice had on opposite sides a picture of a person and one the other sides, the image of The Blues. The Blues was a scary looking blue cloud creature. And if we rolled two blues, we would move the blues two spaces. And if we rolled two people, we would move any combination of the people pieces forward the equivalent of two spaces, but if the people landed on the a cared square, we got to pickup a cared which would allow us to do something god for our selves. They ware things like a motivational cheer or a love squeeze. But we could only use them wen we thought that the blue was getting to close. And after using one The Blues would be sent back to it’s starting square. And ones we had gotten all the people pieces around the board we would win the game and The Blues would have lost but till this day we have still not one. Well that is because we got a blank cared, and a blank cared allows you to do something good you come up with yourselves. So we decided to go have a brake and drink some tee and socialize. And as fare as I now we are still on brake. Well following the game we went and had some random fun, which consisted of hopping races and then a spontaneous workshop that consisted of us tacking turns staring lovingly into each others eyes. So following the workshop we went and joined the rest of the conferees for our night of sleep. In the morning we gout up and had fresh Montreal still bagels and orange juice or coffee and discussed the possibilities of having another event like this one, and then we did a closing activity. The closing activity was a big group hug and by the time we had all finished hugging it was noon and time for everyone to go. Me and my friend headed of with my brother to his small apartment to which we ware staying over at until Sunday. We got to me bro’s place we had something to eat then we went out to a bar. And at the bar we played a great game of travel Scrabble. Later that evening we had an enthralling discussion all about Unitarian Universalist young adult programming. The next morning we went back to the church to attend the Sunday service which was on the seven Unitarian Universalist principles wen we went out for lunch with some of the young adults. Following the lunch we went to the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. It was so cool in fact they had this short video, which was a re-enactment this artist did with, is daughter of Moby Dick set in a kitchen. Following the museum we went back to my brother palace and packed up and went home again by VIA Rail train.

The fourth principle

This past summer, I along with many of the other members of my church’s young adult group, The Young Adults(AKA The Noble Birds), put on a Sunday morning worship service. It was on the seven Unitarian Universalist principles and their sources,

“The Principles and Sources of Our Religious Faith

Principals

We, the member congregations of the Canadian Unitarian Council, covenant to affirm and promote:

· the inherent worth and dignity of every person;
· justice, equity, and compassion in human relations;
· acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
· a free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
· the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
· the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
· respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Sources

The living tradition which we share draws from many sources:

· direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
· words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
· wisdom from the world’s religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
· Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God’s love by loving our neighbours as ourselves;
· Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit;
· spiritual teachings of Earth-centred traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

Grateful for the religious pluralism which enriches and ennobles our faith, we are inspired to deepen our understanding and expand our vision. As free congregations we enter into this covenant, promising to one another our mutual trust and support.”

and was called “The Passion of The Principles”a play one the name of the Mel Gibson film “The Passion of The Christ”. I spoke on the fourth principal “a free and responsible search for truth and meaning”. And this is what I said:
“Erroll J Bailey’s elderly character “Junior” from his novel “Mr. Dream Merchant” said it best when speaking to his young teenage student “Chase”, and I quot “You see, in this world, all of us are born human beings. Yet unless we are also deeply rooted in spirituality, our gift is lost. We then fall into the state that I chose to call human doing.” He was referring to a relationship with God and his holy work but I think this can be said for all things to which one may encounter in life to which they may find to bring them a feeling of spiritual, ah, reevaluation or incite. But I would also advise that people watch out fore how they go about this being spiritually aware because if not careful they can inhibit others from folly exploring what they may derive spiritual benefit from, whether that is a physical place, a phenomenon or object, like a mountain, hosing subdivision, a sunset, or even a piece of writing. Junior also gos on to say to his young teenage student, “Tomorrow, you must observe-watch people. Listen. Be aware of how many people are occupied with doing, doing, doing. People are obsessed with the doing of the journey, not the being of the journey. They have all forgotten how to be.” I Would like you all here today to try over the next few days to watch the folks around you and I think you will find this to be trow. And further Chase responds by saying “Mane, this is some deep stuff”. Yes this is some deep stuff, but listen to how Junior responds to Chase. Yes he instructs Chase to. “Listen and observe. You will find that most people think that growth in life is acquiring material possessions. It is sad that they are controlled with such an obsession. As well if you would as you observe people doing instead of being also try to be aware to the fact that many are also in a rush to have the next big fiscal item like a flat panel plasma TV, thus giving them little time, to be spiritual beings, and thereby casing the world to be filed with many more unsatisfied, as Junior would say “human doings”. So I will end with this poem I have written, one entitled “Life, Death And Living”, which is all about the act of living life and its eventual end.

People are born with the inevitable fact that they will die hanging over their head
Some of them try to prolong life
Others seem to have no respect for those living it
Still others go throw it with out even experiencing its full potential
And wen the time comes for death people die whether their willing or not
Some are remembered but must are slowly forgotten
People are born with the inevitable fact that they will die hanging over their heads“