Heading East to Hear My Son Preach!

[susankh4]

I've changed my avatar to the U.U. Chalice while I am away.

My oldest is graduating from Harvard and being ordained next summer. He's in the pulpit as an intern this weekend.

Can you tell I am proud?



(Photo is from his first sermon in Boston.)

[villager]

1. Harvard Theological seminary? Wow....

"Mazel tov" to him -- and to you! ;-)

[susankh4]

2. Yes. That is the place!

He has a full fellowship. Or, believe me.... we wouldn't be able to send him there.

[H2O Man]

3. Great!

You should be proud. Enjoy!

[patrice]

4. Excellent!

We need new religious leaders.

Congratulations!

[midnight]

5. Congrats and enjoy the sermon.

Is he going to be a Catholic priest? Not sure if Harvard teaches other religious leaders or just focus on Catholism?

[susankh4]

6. He will be a Unitarian Universalist minister.

Thanks for asking!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. Catholics usually go to their own seminaries

Harvard was founded by Puritans, but today, all sorts of liberal Protestants go there.

[Critters2]

10. Harvard Divinity School is Unitarian Universalist, not Catholic.

It was founded Congregationalist, but left during the Unitarian controversy of the early 19th Century.

[msongs]

7. depends on what he preaches & what kind of UU he is - they vary widely

in the west UU churches tend to be way more non-christian/fundy oriented, while back east I hear they are way more christian in some cases to the extent of being baptist-like.

our UU church is truly welcoming and open to all reasonable people and very multi-denominational.

hope your son is like our minister.

Msongs

[kwassa]

8. I never have met a UU christian church

Many claim they exist, but no one can tell me where they are.

I have been in UU churches east and west.

[Critters2]

11. Here ya go:

http://www.uuchristian.org/uucf-groups/

[kwassa]

14. Thanks!

I spoke to my rector last night, he is also a Harvard Divinity grad, though Episcopal, and he repeated a joke about how the christian UUs stopped at the borders of Boston. Many in Mass, overall not many nationally, many of those Universalist.

Most UU churches, in my experience, never mention the G-word. The California references amused me; a small UU congregation in Venice that I visited was essentially a Marxist cell, and First Unitarian downtown LA had services in Korean, Spanish, and English (the same service) and had a retirement home with many aging American Communist party members. Now, that's UU.

[Critters2]

15. I once preached at a UU church, and the minister actually asked me

beforehand not to use the G-word, for fear of offending people. I told her I wouldn't be able to do that. She let me preach anyway, and everyone seemed okay with it.

[kwassa]

18. I find it funny ...

that one should not talk about God in a church. What is a church, after all?

That is also UU, though.

That you were treated well, however, is not a surprise. Unitarians are so TOLERANT!

[Critters2]

19. Yeah, but a lot of my ex's UU friends were pretty condescending about my faith

but they didn't see it that way. They were constantly letting me know that I was "too bright" to be a Christian. Or that they were sure I was going through a phase and would come to my senses. They honestly thought I should feel that they were complimenting me.

I saw enough UU "tolerance" to make me feel right at home in the UCC, thanks.

[kwassa]

22. in some ways "tolerance" is strange word

as in, we will tolerate your belief because we are tolerant people which fulfills our vision of ourselves, but we still think you are crazy or inferior or wrong, we just won't directly say it to you.

[nemo137]

12. Congratulations, Mazel Tov, Good Show, etc.

You must be pleased as six kinds of punch.

[susankh4]

13. Thanks to everyone!

I am on the road in a few short hours.

Yes... there are Christian UUs, for whoever asked. But the denomination, as a whole, is open to all "faiths." My son is quite agnostic... tho he was raised as a UU Pagan, and was influenced by Catholicism (the religion of his ancestors.)

I am extremely happy about his choice to serve in this way!

[John Gauger]

16. What does a divinity major study?

What does a religious leader have to know? I don't think I've ever heard of divinity as a major. I mean, I know that there are seminary schools, but I've never really thought about what they are actually studying.

[Dorian Gray]

17. Theology and Philosophy

probably with some social services thrown in the mix.

[Critters2]

20. Scripture, theology, religious history, church administration, Greek,

Hebrew, pastoral psychology. Stuff like that.

[Jim__]

21. Areas of academic focus at Harvard

according to wiki

[susankh4]

23. Some courses I know of:

Sermonics, Chaplaincy, Pastoral Counselling, Church Management, Historical Jesus, Islam, Fundamentalism, Unitarian Universalist History, World Religions, Theology, Grief......

Just a few I have heard him talk about. I know there are many other options at HDS.