Yet Another Unitarian Universalist – Page 4 – A postmodern heretic's spiritual journey.

Noted without comment: “performance of meanness”

From a story by Fiona Murphy titled “How ‘RaptureTok’ amplified an extreme corner of faith” (Religion New Service, 26 Sept. 2025). The story documents how minority religious views are often mocked and belittled on TikTok….

“Heidi Campbell, director of the Network for New Media, Religion and Digital Culture Studies at Texas A&M University in College Station, said that since 2016, online discourse has shifted toward what she calls a ‘performance of meanness.’

“‘The screen has allowed us to broadcast so much more diversity, which can be a positive thing,’ Campbell said. ‘But instead of bringing us closer together, which a lot of internet prophets and cyber philosophers kind of said in the 1990s, it’s actually brought more division.’”

Follow up to a clergy misconduct allegation

Back in 2022, I mentioned in a year-end blog post that Rev. Kathryn J. Rohde had been removed from fellowship by the Ministerial Fellowship Committee (MFC) of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). Now it turns out there’s a (publicly available) sequel.

The following year, 2023, Rohde sued the UUA for removing her from fellowship, and further for ending the retirement stipend she received from the “Unitarian Service Pension Society” (an organization I didn’t even know existed). You can read the basic court documents here, but I read about the case in a blog post by Daniel Dalton on the website of Dalton-Tomich, a law firm specializing in “religious properties” (a legal speciality I didn’t even know existed).

According to the court filings, and Daniel Dalton’s blog post, Rohde got in trouble because of a social media post made in 2020:

“In 2020, Rohde posted in a private Facebook group with about 1,200 members. Three individuals found her posts offensive and reported them to the UUA. The UUA allegedly initiated a disciplinary process against Rohde, despite her being retired. Rohde claims the process was politically motivated, driven by a ‘woke’ faction within the UUA. She was stripped of her ministerial credentials and retirement stipend, with no clear violation of UUA policies cited.”

[Parenthetical note: “private Facebook group” is an oxymoron; social media is never private.]

[Another parenthetical note: Both the court filing and the Daniel Dalton blog post state that Rohde alleged she was the victim of sexual harassment early in her ministerial career — an allegation I would expect to be true, based on what older women ministers told me about the way they were treated by male ministers and denominational officials in the late twentieth century.]

Daniel Dalton goes on to reveal what the court decided; or rather, didn’t decide:

“In a ruling on July 11, 2025, Judge Mary Kay Costello issued a mixed ruling on the defendants’ motion to dismiss based on the ministerial exception to the First Amendment. Rev. Rohde’s claims of defamation, invasion of privacy (false light); tortious interference with contract, and breach of contract (specifically regarding her removal from fellowship and alleged procedural failures) were dismissed without prejudice. However, her claims of breach of contract, related to her retirement benefits, breach of contract against the Unitarian Service Pension Society and promissory estoppel were allowed to continue. The court also granted Rohde the opportunity to file an amended complaint by July 25, 2025, consistent with the court’s decision.”

I have not been able to find out whether Rohde filed an amended complaint. I did find out that the usual vocal critics of the UUA — the Fifth Principle Project, the North American Unitarian Council, etc. — have been trumpeting Rohde’s case as another example of how “wokeness” has overtaken the UUA. Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post also picked up the story, using it to castigate so-called cancel culture.

Daniel Dalton, however, draws different conclusions from this case. First, he points out that most of Rohde’s claims were dismissed, not necessarily on their merit (or lack of merit), but rather on the legal notion of “ministerial exception.” As I interpret this, the dismissal, then, does not necessarily represent a judicial judgement (for or against) on Rohde’s claims.

Second, he notes that the Rohde case “prompts questions” in the area of “governance and accountability” regarding disciplinary procedures. Such question could lead to “greater transparency in internal investigations.” While Dalton seems to direct this comment at the UUA, I would imagine that local congregations should also pay attention to this — disciplinary procedures should always be clear and transparent.

Among other conclusions, Dalton points out that this case highlights the need to balance freedom of expression over against “community values.” Dalton suggests: “UU congregants and leaders may need to find ways to balance inclusivity with respecting diverse viewpoints.”

Dalton also highlights “ideological splits within the denomination,” and he then speculates if this might prompt “wider discussions on political polarization, identity politics, and theological diversity” within Unitarian Universalism. I think we Unitarian Universalists try to ignore the divisions among us, but Dalton shows us just how visible those divisions are to outsiders.

So that’s the inconclusive sequel to the 2022 removal of Kate Rohde from ministerial fellowship. Yet even though this sequel is inconclusive, there’s one conclusion I’d like to draw. Expanding on what Daniel Dalton says, I think it would be good to have additional clarification on Unitarian Universalist disciplinary policies for ministers (at both the denominational and local levels), as well as “greater transparency in internal investigations” (again, at both the denominational and local levels). The problem is that I don’t know how to make that happen. Our individualism means we find it hard to work together. 25 years of budget cuts have left the UUA understaffed in some key areas. Wider American society has grown polarized, and people are tender and raw. All these factors are going to make it extremely hard to come together to talk openly about a difficult topic like how we discipline clergy.

12 Oct. 2025: Minor edit made that didn’t change basic content (added brackets and intro phrase to the second parenthetical note).

View from the bell tower of a 1747 meetinghouse

I climbed up to the bell level of the tower of the Cohasset Meetinghouse, because someone wanted to know if our bell was cast by Paul Revere (it was not). While I was up there, I took a panoramic photo. Not much of a view, to be honest — the tower isn’t all that tall, and it doesn’t have the dramatic view the you get from First Parish in Lexington (from which you can see the skyscrapers of Boston), or from First Unitarian in New Bedford (from which you can see New Bedford Harbor). But it’s still a charming view.

Click on the image above for a higher resolution version.

Fall flowers

It’s a crazy world out there, and sometimes you just need to forget about the human world and get in touch with the beauty and subliminty of the non-human world. And on a walk today, I saw more than a dozen species of wildflowers in bloom….

Recap of NAACP webinar for Labor Action Week

[Note: I wrote up my notes from this meeting, pasted them into WordPress, then forgot to hit “Publish.” Sigh. So this post is dated September 5th, even though it actually went live a couple of weeks later.]

While watching the NAACP webinar on “Labor action Week”, I transcribed a few of the speakers’ comments that especially caught my attention. Here are my rough notes, lightly edited:

“It is by design to make us feel powerless,” said Julie Collier of the AFL-CIO. “They are trying to make us feel powerless, so that we act powerless…. That is not where we are, we are going to be fighting back.” “We’re going to organize, because that is what we do best.”

Donna Mitchell, who is with Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA, a building trades union), said that their union is asking each local to build alliances in their communities, including of course alliances with local NAACP chapters. LiUNA leadership knows that many of their members voted for Trump, so they are now reaching out to their membership to become “reacquainted.” They are also asking their members to “vote with their paychecks.” As an example of what she means by that, Mitchell pointed out that the Trump administration shut down the Revolution Wind project off Rhode Island, which has thrown hundreds of LiUNA workers out of work. “Overnight, those jobs are gone,” Mitchell said. She added that the demise of Revolution Wind will “drive up energy prices,” thus hitting LiUNA members once again in the pocketbook.

While Mitchell was speaking, I noticed this comment in the chat:

“Have we ever had another president in the White House that raised unemployment and inflation at the same time?”

Rev. Dr. Regena Thomas, who is a ministerial associate at Grant Chapel AME church and also Co-Director of Human, Civil, and Women’s Rights for the American Federation of Teachers, said, “If I’m completely honest, I’m mad as hell. But I’m also fearful.” She is especially fearful because of the attacks on Black women by the Trump administration. She sees the labor movement as taking the lead right now, adding:

“I’m mad, and scared, but also energized and fired up.”

“If it’s good enough for them to want to take it, it’s good enough for us to fight to keep it,” Thomas went on. “Everyone has a lane [i.e., everyone has a role to play] … and we need boots on the ground [i.e., each of us has to get to work].”

In response to Thomas, this comment appeared in chat:

“No silos! We can do this together!!”

Actually, some of the most inspiring material came from the chat. Here is a small sampling of comments from NAACP members from across the U.S.:

“We must remember Galatians 6:9, ‘And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.’ Keep standing in solidarity.”

“The working class needs to fight back, we outnumber the oppressors.”

“[Work] collectively. Stop the divide and conquer. What they do to one, they will do to another.”

“Partnerships and collaborations are necessary.”

“Racism and bigotry are integral to capitalist exploitation.” [Mostly I forgot to note who made the comments, but this last one came from Rev. Chester Banks, president of the Bayonne Branch of the NAACP.]

You can watch the recording of this webinar on Youtube.
And you can take action by signing the petition to protect Black workers.
And you’ll find more opportunities for action here.

A final note of apology: I was typing as fast as I could, and my transcriptions are probably not entirely accurate; if you spot errors, please leave a comment with a corrected version.

NAACP Labor Action Week

As we work towards getting out the current political situation, most of the so-called progressive left seems to be in disarray, with little more to offer than “We don’t like Trump.” Which, to be honest, is not very helpful.

Fortunately, the NAACP has been promoting a positive vision for what needs to be done. This week, the week after labor Day, is “Labor Action Week,” a week to promote the interests and needs of working people — with the slogan, “Fierce Advocates for Working People.” Tonight, the NAACP offers a webinar on all this. Here’s the description:

“This Labor Action Week, we unite under the banner The Urgency of Now to confront the challenges facing working people — and to act. Join us as we shine a light on the fights, the victories, and the voices that keep our movement strong. Together, we will honor the dignity of work, demand policies that protect and empower workers, and inspire a new generation to carry the torch forward.”

It’s not too late to register for the webinar — I just did. Go to this page, then click through to the registration form. And if you can’t make it, I’ll report on the webinar tomorrow

On the brighter side…

This summer, a couple of people whom I knew and liked and respected have died; one of them was quite a bit younger than I. The news of their deaths really brought me down. On top of that, there’s the national and international news, which has also been bringing me down. Plus today I started feeling under the weather — I hate being sick in the summertime.

I needed something to pick me up. So I looked for music by Rio Saito, a young ukulele virtuoso who has been playing some hot jazz. And I found a Youtube video of the Rio and Dani Brazilian Jazz Trio, recorded last November, playing “Aquelas Coisas Todas” by Brazilian jazz great Toninho Horta. I recognize Rio Saito as the ukulele player and band leader, but since I don’t read Japanese I can’t tell you the names of the pianist, bassist, and drummer. All I can tell you is that they are all fabulous musicians who put across eleven minutes of bright, uptempo, very accomplished jazz that made me smile.

One of the reasons I love jazz is because of the international connections. This performance is a perfect example — a Japanese ukulelist playing a Brazilian composition that comes from the American tradition of jazz. In a world filled with hot wars and trade wars and cultural wars, it’s good to remember that we can build connections across our differences.

Rio Saito playing ukulele, with a pianist, bassist, and drummer behind him on a small stage. — Screenshot from the video. Click on the image above to view the video on Youtube.

And if you want more, here’s Abe Lagrimas Jr. and Rio playing Antonio Carlos Jobim together.

Quaker Checkers revisited

Back in 2012, I posted a game board and rules for playing “Quaker Checkers.” Photocopies of that game had been passed around for years between Unitarian Universalist Sunday schools. I decided to create a clean copy, and put it online where maybe more people could access it. And if you read the comments on that 2012 post, you’ll see that Quaker Checkers has been played with great success in Unitarian Universalists Sunday schools (and maybe in one or two Quaker First Day Schools as well).

This week, I received email from Sally Q Campbell, who invented the game. Sally said she’s currently talking with a friend of hers about developing an online version of Quaker Checkers. Actually, I would have loved to have an online version during the pandemic when Sunday school had to meet online.

It appears that Sally is one of those endlessly creative people. She is also a songwriter, with a number of songs about peace and spirituality to her credit. On her her Youtube channel, she writes: “I’m a Quaker Singer/songwriter. Many of my songs are given to me in the silence if I will S l o w D o w n.” In fact, I especially like her song “Go Down Low,” which is all about slowing down and centering down. She hadn’t come up with chords for it, so I did. Here’s the standard warning for online chord/lyrics sheets: this is my interpretation of someone else’s song, posted here for educational purposes only; the songwriter Sally Campbell retains the copyright.

(N.B.: she sings “Go Down Low” in B flat.)

All the above is by way of digression. My real point in writing this blog post is to correct something Sally pointed out in her email. She said: “You did make one error when you tidied it up. My board does not have dark and light squares, it’s just a grid. Makes it more of a challenge.”

She’s absolutely right. To make amends, here’s a corrected version of the game board:

Graphic of the game board for Quaker Checkers. — Click on the image above for a printable PDF of the game.

The color of late summer plants

We’re past Lughnasa now, and the days are noticeably shorter. At this time of year, I always look for a few plants with spectacular colors.

Delicately formed flowers. — Lobelia cardinalis

The Cardinal Flower grows in wet ground — in swamps, or along streams, rivers and ponds. I don’t often find a cardinal flower blooming where I can get close enough to see the details of the flowers, but this one was growing in a wet place along one of the paths around Aaron River Reservoir. The vivid red color, and the dramatic structure of the flower, makes it especially memorable.

Butterfly on a flower head. — Danaus plexippus on Asclepias tuberosa

Butterfly Milkweed grows in open fields and meadows. The bright orange is pretty enough by itself, but when an orange and black Monarch Butterfly lands on it, it’s truly spectacular.

Thin orange stems twining around a green plant. — Cuscuta gronovii

At this time of year along one of the inlets of Cohasset Harbor, I always see marsh plants covered in strange-looking orange filaments. Common Dodder is a parasitic plant that has no chlorophyll; it gets all its nutrients by sucking the sap out of a host plant. Parasites always creep me out a little — though I suppose letting your food source live is better than killing it, the way we humans kill carrots and potatoes, or cows and chickens. Nevertheless, the showy orange stems of Common Dodder twined in among green leaves is quite a beautiful sight.

What needs to be said

In a podcast on Religion News service, Rabbi Jay Michelson says that leaders among religious progressives have been avoiding talking about what we can only presume at this point is a government cover-up about the Epstein sex trafficking ring.

I’m not sure if I qualify as a religious progressive leader, but I haven’t been talking about Epstein, or about Ghislaine Maxwell, or about Donnie Trump’s possible connection to their pedophile ring, because I don’t like giving a lot of air time to human traffickers who got money and power trips out of exploiting girls. It always seems to be that the sexist assholes in this world take over all the conversations.

So let’s talk about Haley Robson, who was molested by Epstein when she was 16 years old. When she was 15, she had been raped, and her rapist was still stalking her and humiliating her; as a result she was probably extra vulnerable to Epstein’s emotional manipulation. So Epstein molested her, but stopped short of intercourse, telling her that she should go recruit other girls for him. An article in Psychology Today covers this part of Robson’s story — it’s a very ugly story.

In an interview with BBC News posted just a couple of hours ago, Robson talks about why we should not talk so much about Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. Instead of talking about them, Robson says:

“I’d like to start talking about the women who have sacrificed and poured their blood sweat and tears to get the little bit of justice [they’ve gotten]. I would like the conversations to stop revolving around a billionaire pedophile — not a billionaire financier, let’s call him what he is — and I would like to stop having those conversations. I would like everyone to stop glorifying this monster and [stop] giving him the time of day. All you’re doing is sensationalizing him and it doesn’t need to happen any more.” [my transcript of the interview]

The whole Epstein saga reminds me far too much of the sexual misconduct cases I’ve seen in smaller organizations (like organized religion, and sports teams, and schools, etc.). A person in a position of authority uses their power to sexually exploit vulnerable people — then when they get found out, everyone focuses attention on the person in the position of authority, neglecting or ignoring or forgetting the vulnerable people who got exploited.

So I respect Rabbi Michelson’s opinion that religious progressives should not cede the conversation about the Epstein cover-up to the religious right. But I feel that Robson has the right idea — I don’t want to sensationalize or glorify either Epstein, or his proven and alleged accomplices. If we do decide to talk about this case, let’s make sure our conversation is focused on the people who got molested and manipulated, and how we might get justice for them.