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Naming this blizzard

The Chesapeake Bay watershed has been hit by a large snowstorm; indeed, two outsize storms since December, and a supplemental snowfall is due this week.

The sidewalks are a patchwork of the clear and dry — a crown in heaven for those responsible persons who shoveled them — or, when, left uncleared like a wet and rocky beach, with uneven mounds of shifting snow for shifting sand. The main roads are said to be plowed, but compacted and smoothed would be a more accurate description. Ice unseen makes walking and driving a hazard. The side streets are impassible.

Restless workaholics are clamoring to return to their cubicles. Staples foods are running out of the open stores. The fun is wearing off the spectacle.

But certain dangers and inconveniences come with a storm. Having spent much of my childhood in hurricane-targeted New Orleans, you learn how to prepare for wind and flood, but you cannot prepare for the smells or the boredom that follow. Nor, indeed, can you prepare yourself for the hapless mess of oh-so-clever names this winter storm has been given. Let’s review.

  • Snowpocalypse. My favorite, if worn. A good use of hyperbole and the construction is little changed from the original word. Tricky to spell. That is, if you’re not cutting-and-pasting it.
  • Snowmageddon. Not as good, because it doesn’t map from Armageddon unless you say it with an intrusive R in the first syllable. Of course, native “Warshingtonians” might.
  • SnOMG. Unacceptable. When spoken “Snow my God!” it’s dated and twee. To those unfamiliar, it looks like the word smog spoken by someone eating peanut butter.
  • Snogasm. Evokes nasty thoughts. And laughable, since we’re now in the fourth day of this event.

Any other constructions (“snono”) means you’re trying too hard. Take that energy and apply it, say, to a shovel and a sidewalk.

Posted 08 February 2010 † Scott Wells § Art and culture § District of Columbia ‡ Comments (2) °

Newsletters: more on the “why?”

The snow has stopped falling here in D.C., and I’m tired of writing about it. Back to church administration.

Earlier, I wrote that much of the utility of newsletters — not e-newsletters, but the ones handed to you or sent by mail — comes from their physicality, thus providing a connection to the ministry that sends them. I think this is why printed newsletter’s biggest defenders (and backseat copy editors) are the elderly, and not so much because of their age but because of the added difficulties of getting to church. It’s also more than “not getting the technology” — very often they have a vested interest in getting those printed pages. Think how many snow-bound people here will miss church but — perhaps unconsciously — leaf to see what the church news is as a touchstone or connection. (The instinct is akin to bringing and receiving food in times of distress.) For shut-ins and moved-aways, and for extra-congregational ministries, every Sunday is a snow day.

So I think the church and ministry newsletter will survive. But it needs to value the readers’ time and sensibility, be more clever in its production and attentive to quality.

Some thoughts about what I’ve seen next time.

Posted 06 February 2010 † Scott Wells § Church administration § Liminal places § Specialized ministries ‡ Comments (0) °

D.C. church closings? openings?

I had a very nice invitation the middle of last week to fill in for a vespers service for a small church tomorrow. Since I’m not preaching these days, I was happy to be invited but asked . . . “what about the snow?”

They canceled, and I’m getting on the schedule. But it begs the question:

Which religious services will be open this weekend? This list, from WTOP Radio, rules out many of the synagogues and Adventist churches (understandable since the blizzard will be running neatly over the sabbath) but I wonder if other churches are holding out for more news, or have decided and are just not getting the word out. Please be clear about your opening policies, particularly in big, clear letters on your website.

If you’re in a position of leadership and haven’t decided, consider this. Some of my nicest experiences of worship have been at a church I don’t normally attend because the one I would attend is inaccessible, and bad weather certainly counts. Like the time several winters ago when we closed at my former pastorate and so I — living near the church anyway — wandered down a few more blocks and joined the remnant of First Baptist. They even took in two new members that day! Many of the twenty or thirty or so of us — less than 5% of the usual congregation — decamped to a local diner for lunch. A great experience of hospitality and a thought for those thinking, “none of our people will show up.”

Posted 06 February 2010 † Scott Wells § District of Columbia § Mission and Polity ‡ Comments (1) °

Cooking for Armageddon

Reports of record snowfall — perhaps the worst since 1996, perhaps 1922, thus the worst I will have seen in my time in Washington, D.C. — have put our buttoned-up city into a tizzy. Snowmageddondc.com says it all. The groceries have been busy, and the nearby Trader Joe’s — always busy — last night was one big line snaking up and down the aisles and out the door. (It was a full loop inside the store on Wednesday, when I was there.) Locals, when facing a snow threat, buy bread, milk and toilet paper. (It begs the question: what do you make with that?) But this time other staples, including whole meat departments, are being cleared out.

Day Job, following the federal government’s lead, closed four hours early, and so we dutiful office-folk ambled home. What food, drink to buy? Or would we have to resort to cannibalism? Seems if you stuck to the smaller stores — even the drug store and convenience stores — you had and have much better luck.

I thought this was an opportunity to drag out the bread machine — even though at my neighborhood market still had bread and milk — so I went out for bread flour and dry milk (for the recipe I use). Oh, and a fifth of sweet vermouth for the Manhattans.

The day had taken its toll on the usually well-stocked shelves, and it was clear what people in my neighborhood would be eating over the next few days. Pots of beans, canned and homemade soup, tuna salad, macaroni and cheese, pasta with red sauce.

Some will bake. Gaps in the flour, but a five-pound sack for me. Packets
of cookie mix and chocolate chips gone. Muffins, perhaps, instead of the more esoteric loaf bread and buns remaining.

Coffee and white wine. Plenty of wine. Fresh cases pulled out, but all hands at the registers, so not on the shelves.

I think we’ll survive. Tuck yourselves in and ride it out.

Posted 05 February 2010 † Scott Wells § District of Columbia § Food ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,

Revisiting the newsletter

I have one, valedictory issue of the Liberal Christian to publish. At this point, I’m looking towards a spring date.

That 2009 experiment was helpful, for me, for a couple of reasons and one was an appreciation of print publications for certain settings. Also my current Esperanto studies, since that community has been heavily dependent on print and web publications. (Liberal Christian is a web-only publication, and I think that was one of its problems.) Contrast the mode of work of a dispersed religious group — say, like one of the former independent affiliates of the Unitarian Universalist Association — and something more immediate, like a conventional church. A church is made real in ways we see and touch. Spiritual realities are manifested in physical gatherings, in a particular space with recognized tools and artifacts. Information — more than just the date of this meeting or that potluck — need not come in a newsletter, though it may, because people will learn what it means to be a part of the church primarily from living in it. A congregation that publishes its news in a RSS feed isn’t too far in my mind that one — as was the norm not many decades past — the announced all its news in worship.

Groups that don’t regularly meet — that appeal to a commonality, by web and mail — must be more intentional about how people (literally) sense them. Some have real-world meetings or retreats. Many send some kind of artifact — televangelist were famous for this — but most rely on a news publication.

One ministry I particularly like is the Saviour of All Fellowship. Universalist in theology, but never structurally a part of the Universalists. Indeed, its readers seem to have more affinity for the Concordant Publishing Concern, with its own biblical translation and theological works. The physical manifestation of the Saviour of All Fellowship is a one-page monthly newsletter. It comes in a long envelope with my bills and fliers, and I’m always happy to get it. Far more happy than if the same content were mailed to me.

The format is simple. A fragment of devotional literature, notices of future in-person conferences, obituaries and the like. One page per month. So simple, but a lifeline for that community.

More on this subject next time.

Posted 04 February 2010 † Scott Wells § "Independent Universalist" § Art and culture ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Standing for GLBT people living under dire oppression

The Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office claims to be the only religious voice at the United Nations advocating for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons, or in their lingo, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) work. I believe them and wish there were more sharing in their labor. (Anyone? Please. Or correct me if I’m wrong or misunderstood the claim.)

I’m a member, joining when I was last in New York and impressed by the hard-working staffers in their tightly packed UN-adjacent digs. I think you should join, too. Give generously. The UU-UNO is surely the highest value organization most Unitarian Universalist don’t know about.

But I’m sure there are other vital organizations that support, encourage and defend BGLT/SOGI people, particularly in the Caribbean and the African continent, where so much bad news has recently come.

Do you have a favorite, and if so, what makes them so valuable?

Posted 03 February 2010 † Scott Wells § Freedom § Gay § Unitarian Universalist Association § World Unitarianism and Universalism ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , ,

2010 UUA certifications up

It’s that time of year again — the season where member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association will have certified with the UUA, ostensibly for voting rights in the General Assembly. (The proposal radically to change the nature of General Assembly is hot now; not sure I’ll make much comment. It seems like a misplaced overkill, but GA delegates aren’t bashful about killing overreaching measures and power grabs. So it might not be worth the effort to comment.)

In years past, I used to watch the certifications day by day and delight in the trends. Now, working for a data-driven government transparency organization, I would rather see the data in a format more useful for researchers. Online at all time for sure. An API perhaps. Certainly not my hackish manipulation of certification results to see which congregations are shrinking and which growing.

But take a look and see what we have now. Perhaps I will see what changes the year brings.

Posted 02 February 2010 † Scott Wells § Mission and Polity § Unitarian Universalist Association ‡ Comments (2) °

My take on the Superbowl boycott

Quite a number of people are upset about CBS’s ad-sales decisions about the Superbowl and have called for a boycott or direct complaints to CBS.

I don’t like it either. I don’t like the hypocrisy of denying the United Church of Christ a spot because of their activism (anyone can attend their churches, even gays) but allowing the Tebow ad, sponsored by Focus on the Family. Or selling space a nasty anti-gay candy bar ad two (or was it three?) years ago, but not allowing a gay dating service — Mancrunch; sounds like a candy bar — the same.

But I have a hard time getting worked up. I never watch the Superbowl, and reviewing the stated advertisers have a hard time thinking of those — apart perhaps Coke — that I buy often enough to give up in a boycott. (Indeed, I’ve already boycotted domain registrar GoDaddy for its president’s go-go-Gitmo beliefs, Hooters-quality advertising and miserable terms of service. Use NameCheap.com instead.) Why spend social capital using my spending power, pitting big corporations against others. Not my fight. And the wrong approach. (I would complain to the candy bar company if that ad was current. But the Fairness doctrine is dead — such a shame — so there’s no trying to appeal to that.)

The CBS use of the public airwaves to perpetuate anti-gay bias in CBS’s business is my business. God knows the Right uses FCC complaints to get attention to what jerks their chain. Time to learn FCC regulations and get used to making complaints where it might get some attention.

Posted 01 February 2010 † Scott Wells § Art and culture § Gay ‡ Comments (4) °

“Life of de Benneville” for download

Unitarian minister and blogger Andrew Brown today posted a scanned PDF of the only in-depth biography of Universalist pioneer George de Benneville. I feel a bit bad because I’ve owned a copy for years — he paid dearly for his — and I never put it up.

He alludes to the problem of copyright — it was copyrighted in 1953. Now, since it was of that vintage, if it was never renewed, the work is in the public domain, and has been since 1981. That’ll take some research, but I think it’s a safe bet.

But if it was renewed and a copyright owner cannot be found, then this handy booklet becomes an orphan work and becomes good for nobody: not the unknown owner of the intellectual property and not good for historians, students or the general public who could not republish it. This is a serious intellectual property issue, and needs a remedy.

Until then, do download the book. (Again, I’d bet it’s in the public domain.) And I’ll scan my collection of mid-century Universalist imprints to see if there’s anything also orphaned but likely out of copyright.

Posted 27 January 2010 † Scott Wells § History § Open § Universalism ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged:

Unitarian Universalist Christian church: 15 years past

Ah kids, gather ’round and I’ll tell you about the world pre-Web. We had mailing lists, telephone trees, gopher (I transcribed the first Unitarian document for gopher, and later Project Gutenberg: Channing’s Baltimore Sermon) and before its current use as a vehicle for file downloads — Usenet newsgroups.

These were chat rooms, divided by subject and there were at least two for Unitarian Universalists: soc.religion.unitarian-univ (not enough room for Universalist; just barely extant) and bit.listserv.uus-l.

Lately, I’ve been thinking of the capacity preconditions for a renewal for Christianity among Unitarian Universalists.

I mention the Usenet newsgroups now because I remembered there was quite an interesting little thread on bit.listserv.uus-l about forming a new Unitarian Universalist Christian church — it never happened — in North Carolina, that gives a taste of Unitarian Universalist polity, class and race politics of the time.

Posted 24 January 2010 † Scott Wells § Christian Church § Church mission and identity § Social networking § Unitarian Universalist Association ‡ Comments (2) °