Welcome to the ANZUUA Newsletter!

This is a regular email newsletter from ANZUUA (The Australia and New Zealand Unitarian Universalist Association). Please subscribe, if you haven't already!!

See the subscription box at the end of this newsletter. The subscriber list will not be shared or used for any other purpose. You can unsubscribe at any time with the link at the end of the newsletter. If you received it from your congregation, you will need to contact them directly. You are also welcome to offer items of interest for consideration and inclusion in the newsletter.  Thank you for reading!

As Unitarian Universalists, we affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person, the interdependent web of all existence, and the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. We respect the diversity of religious traditions and spiritual paths that enrich our world, and celebrate the diversity of beliefs and values that enrich our communities.

Seasons’ Greetings

Hi Everyone, the Christmas and New Year festivities are here, and for us they're not about chilly weather and snow! Here in New Zealand and Australia, we flip the script and are soaking up the summer sun and holiday vibes! – However the Christmas message is still all about renewal, light, and fresh starts, drawing from various cool northern hemisphere traditions.

No matter where you stand on the theological spectrum, we're sending you best wishes for a bright, peaceful, and joyful new year. It is also a time when some people make resolutions! If you are so inclined, then we recommend that you try the active hope approach. The concept of active hope (see Joanna Macy’s writings) involves drawing on the wisdom and beauty and strengths of our fellow human beings, and our fellow species.

Picture this: a peaceful future, and think about what we might do to take some steps toward that outcome. We might be just tiny cogs in the vast universe, however when we all join forces in the name of active hope, we can change attitudes, expectations, and contribute to making the world a better place.

 Dances of Universal Peace, photo from the Taupo UU Fellowship

What I Can Offer You

Rich Orloff writes:

Recently a friend, traumatized by recent events, asked me, "Am I alone?"

Here is my reply. As always, feel free to share this poem.

blessings,

Rich



What I Can Offer You

by Rich Orloff

I cannot fix your pain

I cannot solve your problem

I can’t prevent the sorrow you're feeling

Or even guarantee I’ll make you smile

However, because I’ve known

Joy embracing me and disappearing

in the middle of the night

Feeling safe and despairing

if I’ll ever feel safe again

Lowering my guard and being

ambushed by camouflaged demons

And because I’ve also known



The miracle of healing

when pain seemed inescapable

The joy of connection

when isolation had me surrounded

Love returning and

apologizing for its absence

Because I have experienced

enough No in my life

to understand tragedy



Because I have been surprised

by enough Yes in my life

to maintain hope

Because I’ve known

All these things

And more

I will gladly hold your hand

So you don’t have to face the pains of life alone

And I will wait with you patiently

Until the next miracle arrives

 copyright © 2023 Rich Orloff.

For publishing rights, contact the author at richplays@gmail.com.

Otherwise, feel free to use and share the poem as you wish.

You can read other poems by the author HERE

A rich source of material from the UK Unitarians

There is a remarkable and useful library of recordings available from the UK Unitarians. This archive contains lecturers on theology, blessings for many occasions, and discussions on issues such as multiculturalism from a Unitarian perspective.  Access is free at: https://www.ukunitarians.org.uk/tv/

An invitation to join the newsletter team.

The newsletter has been operating now for 20 months. We do not have a representative from either Sydney or Auckland in the newsletter team and we especially invite a representative of these congregations to join us. Twice a year you will be invited to propose a first draft of the newsletter, and in other months you will be asked to contribute ideas and items. Please contact Revd Ralph Catts for further information. ralphunitarian@gmail.com

Inter-faith Parliamentary breakfast

Connie Gibbons, ANZUUA President, and Romany Rzechowicz from the Canberra UU Fellowship attended the Parliamentary Interfaith Breakfast on 16 November, held in the Great Hall at Parliament House in Canberra. 

The annual Parliamentary Interfaith Breakfast celebrates the diverse contribution faith communities have made on Australia's national fabric, and is a popular forum for interfaith dialogue, fostering positive engagement between the country's political and religious leaders.

This year’s event featured addresses from Milton Dick, Speaker of the House of Representatives; Chris Bowen, representing the Prime Minister; and Andrew Hastie, Shadow Minister for Defence, representing Opposition Leader, Peter Dutton, who said he was called away at the last minute. In welcoming guests, Mr Dick said Australia's national identity was tied closely with the country's diverse religious and faith communities sitting in the room.  He said, "If we can hold this event every day of a sitting week, I think our nation would be a lot stronger."

Chris Bowen spoke about importance of interfaith dialogue in this difficult time.  However, Mr Dutton’s speech delivered by Andrew Hastie, strangely focussed on “the Judeo-Christian values at the heart of our democracy". He also condemned pro-Palestinian protests as antisemitic. The best part was hearing leaders from ten religions and faith communities lead the room in separate prayers from their own tradition, including: Baha’I, Catholic, Chaldean, Greek Orthodox, Hindu, Jewish, Maronite, Muslim, and Uniting.

Our NZ and AUS UU Communities

A listing, with links, of the churches and fellowships that make up ANZUUA can be found here: https://www.anzuua.org/findingus. We will share news of a selection of UU communities each month. You are encouraged to send any news from your community that you’d like to share to Lynn at lynnjkelly@gmail.com.

Melbourne UU Fellowship

The Melbourne UU Fellowship has been busy. We held our annual meeting on 19 November and re-elected Janine Rizzetti as our President. We have begun a 10-session program on Spiritual Practices, using materials developed by the First Unitarian Church of Dallas (Texas) as part of their Faith Forward Program. We've started a Second Saturday Cinema (Sinema?) program, and the first session was well attended. We also had a lovely Thanksgiving Lunch together. One recent service was on the theme of perennials and another was entitled "Can Kindness Help?".

Taupo UU Fellowship

We held our inaugural organisational meeting with seven members

present on 22nd November 2023, and have all agreed to join ANZUUA

officially upon the opening of our local ASB account this month. 

Our meeting was followed by a service dedicated to our Peace mission 

through interfaith dialogue, song, chant, prayer, and discussion. One of our

main forms of worship and outreach over the past two years has been through

the Dances of Universal Peace.

Auckland Unitarian Church

We held a beautiful funeral service for beloved minister, Rev. Clay Nelson on 11th November. Rachel, his wife gave the eulogy, and Sophie, her daughter, sang a lovely rendition of the song that she had sung to Clay just before he died, 'I want to hold your hand' by the Beatles. He leaves a legacy of over 300 sermons online, and many lives touched in Auckland and beyond. We now carry on with a team of worship associates who had good modelling from Clay on how to lead services. It was great to have Connie, our ANZUUA president, at the service too, making connections for future collaboration.

If you would like to receive the ANZUUA newsletter directly please subscribe in the box above. If you know Unitarians or Unitarian Universalists, or others who are interested in our faith and principles, please share this newsletter and invite them to subscribe. You can unsubscribe at any time with the link at the end of each email!