A New Year / A New Day

As usual I spent a lot of time thinking about what my goals were going to be for the New Year.  2015 was going to start with a whole host of goals, most of which probably avoided the larger questions about my life, but they were good.  They were quantifiable.  They were measurable.  They were recordable on a spread sheet.  These are the kinds of goals I love.

They weren’t wishy-washy, ill-defined things like, I will be more creative in 2015.  Or I will read more in 2015.  Or I will eat healthier in 2015.  No, these things were specific.  These things were not negotiable.

So, for your viewing pleasure, here is what I set out for myself to accomplish in 2015:

1. Read 100 books
2. Read 365 essays
3. Star using Goodreads again to track my books read and to write reviews of all my books read
4. Join weight watchers and lose 30 lbs (I know this is a little TMI, but it is a goal, and I am looking for honesty and accountability here.) (Dr. visit the last week of December 2014 was the precipitating event, with a choice between more diabetes medication or losing the weight. I asked the Dr. to give me three months to see if I could take the weight off.)
5. Increase my blog posting to a blog post a week. 52 blog posts this year.

So, almost a month in to 2015, how am I doing?

Well, not to be immodest, but I am doing pretty well.  I am on track to accomplish all of the goals except one.   And, it is probably the most visible of all of my 2015 goals.  I have yet to write or post a blog post.  My little schedule of Wednesday blog posts, one a week for the entire year is already shot.

If I stumble in my other goals, if I fall behind on reading, or plateau or gain a couple of pounds…what will I do…well…I think I will do what it takes to get back on track.  I will not make excuses.  So. That is what I will do with my blog posts.   I will write and share and post and I will get caught up.

So, I plan to write about what I am reading, what I am learning, about my travels, about my writing, about addiction and being an AA Atheist.

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Radical Recovery

In June of this year I had the privilege of leading four 12 step meetings at the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly in Providence, Rhode Island.  I have attended recovery meetings at General Assembly in the past, and I had led a couple of meetings when General Assembly was held in Phoenix, Arizona in 2012.

The Unitarian Universalist Association Addictions Ministry Team is small and relatively new.  We are an all-volunteer organization.  Most of us have day jobs and families and other commitments, but do this work because we feel it is important.  We do this work because we feel like it needs to be done.

From the UUA Addictions Ministry website:

“The Unitarian Universalist Association Addictions Ministry is called to walk together with congregations and religious professionals to educate individuals, families, congregations and communities about the suffering caused by addiction.

Our purpose in doing this ministry is to transform cultures of misuse and abuse into cultures of healing, wholeness, and health.”

Because I lead meetings at General Assembly that I also lead in the real world— meetings that I am most familiar with—I chose to lead two Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and two Narcotics Anonymous meetings at General Assembly this year.   We are very explicit that these are open meetings and members of all 12 step groups and other types of recovery, as well as respectful visitors, are welcome.

The meetings were unfortunately in a very-difficult-to-find, off-the-beaten-path location in the Dunkin Donuts Center, adjacent to the Rhode Island Convention Center.  There were no signs posted offering directions, and unfortunately, the steps, elevators and long empty hallways that led to our meeting room likely discouraged some people who tried to find us.

 

Those who did manage to find us met for four days from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.  We sat in a circle, opened with the serenity prayer, shared our experience, strength and hope with one another and created a space of healing and hope as people who identified as drug addicts, alcoholics, al-anons and visitors met together with respect.  We talked about the disconnect we feel between our church lives and our recovery lives.  We talked about what it is like to have a different perspective on issues of faith than many of the people in our 12 step groups.  We talked about what it was like to not have an opportunity to talk about addiction in our church communities.  We talked about healing and helpful ways that some people have participated in bridging those two parts of their lives.

People shared.  A little.  Or a lot.  People cried.  People laughed.  These were absolutely 12 step groups. We read the steps and traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous on day one and day three and Narcotics Anonymous on day two and day four.

During the four days that our little community existed in that out-of-the-way room I felt that something very powerful was happening to us, among us. For me these meetings were revolutionary, profound, extreme, uncompromising.  Radical.   In my mind I called it Radical Recovery.  I called it that because although these were very much NA and AA meetings, we shared about our spiritual lives in a way that I have never experienced in an NA or AA meeting.   We were powerfully inclusive, allowing a young woman to talk about life with her alcoholic mother, while her relatively recently sober mother sat next to her, proud and tearful.  We held her and them in our hearts as she spoke of the pain that she had already experienced in her young life.  The anger and sadness that she was able to articulate so well.

 

 

There were a few people who said that these meetings had been the very best part of General Assembly for them.  The honesty was deep and in some cases raw.  The connections we made, however temporary, were profound.

In the midst of a larger, busy, non-stop gathering like General Assembly, we provided an oasis to those who sought one.  A place to be quiet, thoughtful, self-reflective, contemplative.  A place for one young man to share the way a group of people from his UU church meet once a month before they attend an AA meeting together.  A place to share our frustrations with the “God” language in our 12 step groups.  A place to share our gratitude for finding each other in this unlikely place, people from all over the country, people of all ages and addictions.

It was familiar and it was new. It was the same and it was different. To me it felt radical.  It was Radical Recovery.

 

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My first speaking gig…

Yesterday I spoke to a group of about 25 women at my church (Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of San Luis Obispo County). Other than in NA and AA meetings it was the first time I had ever spoken in public. I chose to speak about addiction. What follows is the text of my talk.

I’m Hanje; I’m an alcoholic and a drug addict. I realize this is not an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting or a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, but I do appreciate this opportunity to speak with you about addiction. As a teenager and young adult I used and abused a variety of substances including alcohol and street drugs, but I have been clean and sober since May 6, 1981.

Before I continue, I want to make clear that everything I say today is my own opinion. I am not here as a representative of any group, nor am I suggesting any particular type of treatment or recovery program. I have come to these ideas on my own, through personal experience and research. Please accept my remarks for what they are: part of my personal story supported by some background information about addiction.

I have been clean and sober for 31 years. I drank and used drugs from the time I was 15 or 16 until I was 27. And then I was lucky. My sister and my mother gathered a dozen or so of my friends and other important people in my life together and with help from the Johnson Institute prepared for and did an intervention. As you may know, an intervention is an orchestrated attempt by family and friends to get someone to seek profession help with an addiction or some kind of traumatic event or crisis.

I am passionate about this topic because I am alive.. Because I am a survivor. Because I am in recovery. I want to shine the light on the subject of addiction, to help remove the stigma that surrounds it. I have “come out” as an addict and alcoholic in the hope of being an example to others who are living as practicing or recovering addicts and alcoholics. I respect the choice many people make to remain anonymous in recovery, but I have chosen not to be anonymous, which allows me to share my experience, strength and hope with people like you who may know someone who has been affected by the disease of addiction. And, I think it is safe to say that almost everyone knows someone who has been affected by the disease of addiction in one way or another.

I have recently been asked to join both the national and local Unitarian Universalist Addictions Ministry Teams. The Unitarian Universalist Addictions Ministry helps to educate and facilitate conversation in congregations on issues surrounding alcoholism and addiction. The mission of the Addictions Ministry is:

The Unitarian Universalist Addictions Ministry is called to walk together with congregations and religious professionals to educate individuals, families, congregations and communities about the suffering caused by addiction.

Our purpose in doing this ministry is to transform cultures of misuse and abuse into cultures of healing, wholeness, and health.

The Addictions Ministry has done workshops at both PSWD District Assembly and General Assembly, it has offered recovery meetings during General Assembly, has had a booth with information at both District Assembly and General Assembly. This year we will have an ad in the General Assembly Program, have a booth at General Assembly and again will offer the opportunity for people to attend a recovery meeting every day during General Assembly.

The definition of addiction has changed significantly as science and understanding has changed over time. A current definition from the National Institute on Drug Abuse pamphlet The Science of Drug Abuse and Addiction says:

“Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. It is considered a brain disease because drugs change the brain – they change its structure and how it works. These brain changes can be long lasting, and can lead to the harmful behaviors seen in people who abuse drugs.”

The pamphlet continues:

“Throughout much of the last century, scientists studying drug abuse labored in the shadows of powerful myths and misconceptions about the nature of addiction. When science began to study addictive behavior in the 1930s, people addicted to drugs were thought to be morally flawed and lacking in willpower. Those views shaped society’s responses to drug abuse, treating it as a moral failing rather than a health problem, which led to an emphasis on punitive rather than preventative and therapeutic actions. Groundbreaking discoveries about the brain have revolutionized our understanding of drug addiction, enabling us to respond effectively to the problem.”

It was in this atmosphere of shame and guilt that Bill W. and Dr. Bob started the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous in the 1930s, which was partly based on the idea that alcoholism was an illness, not a moral failing. Originally, anonymity was practiced as a result of the experimental nature of the fellowship and to protect members from the stigma of being seen as alcoholic.

Many other 12 step groups are modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous. Over 200 self-help organizations–often known as fellowships—with a worldwide membership of millions—now employ twelve-step principles for recovery. Narcotics Anonymous, for example, was formed in 1953 by addicts who did not relate to the specifics of alcohol dependency but believed in the tenants of the 12 step model.

There is a newer (1992), less well known recovery support group that is not based on the twelve step model called SMART Recovery. SMART stands for Self Management and Recovery Training. The SMART Recovery 4-Point Program® helps people recover from all types of addiction and addictive behaviors, including: drug abuse, drug addiction, substance abuse, alcohol abuse, gambling addiction, cocaine addiction, prescription drug abuse, and problem addiction to other substances and activities.

I need to add that Narconon is not to be confused with Narcotics Anonymous or Nar-Anon. Narconon is a Scientology front group. It offers purported drug rehabilitation treatment and anti-drug lectures which promote the ideology of L. Ron Hubbard; neither is considered valid by mainstream science or medicine.

I started smoking cigarettes in January of 1969. I loved my first cigarette. I could not wait until I could have my second cigarette. I smoked my last cigarette in March 2007. I smoked cigarettes for 38 years. It was the first thing I became addicted to and it was the last thing I gave up.

Over the next couple of years I started drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana when the opportunity arose. As time went on, drinking became more frequent until my use was daily. I had blackouts from very early in my drinking career. I tried other drugs including hallucinogens, amphetamines and opiates. I drank and used with my friends in high school and beyond. There were five of us who drank and drugged together in high school. Three of them did not become addicts and apparently outgrew the experimental phase, one of them died two years ago from an intravenous drug overdose, and then there is me. Was there a way to know which of us were going to become addicts? There might have been a way to tell through brain scans, but I don’t think that any of us would have been able to predict, and I don’t think it was necessarily obvious to an outside observer either.

From the outside my life appeared normal. In 1981 before I went to treatment I was working at 2 part time jobs. I was paying my bills. I had my own apartment. I was a book reader. I was a responsible employee. I dressed appropriately.

Upon closer inspection, people would have discovered that I was buying my alcohol and cigarettes from different stores each day because I was ashamed. On election night in November 1980 I passed out drunk, with a lit cigarette and suffered first, second and third degree burns on my hand and abdomen, resulting in the fire department coming to my apartment and many trips to University Hospital for burn treatment. I would isolate and would not answer my phone or my door. I stole rolls of toilet paper from bars. I told my boss that I was thinking about seeing a therapist because I was just so unhappy with my life.

I became less and less careful about keeping the parts of my life I was ashamed of away from people that really mattered, and my secrets were being discovered by more and more of my friends and family.

In May of 1981 there was an intervention planned and executed by members of my family, my closest friends and my boss. Each person read a statement to me which reflected back to me some of the behaviors that I was trying so hard to keep hidden. After reading their statements to me, I was asked by each of them if I would agree to get help. My body was trapped in a room with these people, but my mind was racing. How can I say yes, make them all happy, and then continue with my life?

They were prepared for me and my slippery plans. They already had a suitcase packed and a reservation at a residential treatment center. They had been told not to let me go home or anywhere else, but to drive me directly to the treatment center. They delivered me and my suitcase to my home for the next 29 days, Twin Town Treatment Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The next 29 days were amazing and hard and stressful and revealing and huge relief. I learned so much about addiction, about myself, and I started to learn tools for living a clean and sober life. We attended private therapy, group therapy, in-house AA meetings, outside AA meetings. We had three meals served to us every day. We had regular physical exercise. We got to work on ourselves for an entire month with paid staff and peers to help us.

There was a reason I was so miserable. There was a name for what was wrong with me. There wasn’t a cure but there was recovery. There were people who spoke to us and that worked in the treatment center that had impressive clean time. And nearly every day someone graduated from our program, showing that it was possible to make it.

After my 29 days in treatment I attended a 90 day halfway house program. During this program in addition to meetings and therapy and working on goals and socialization skills we also worked at paying jobs outside the halfway house. As much as the initial treatment had been a relief and a respite, the whole idea of doing 3 more months in an institution did not appeal to me at all. In retrospect, that additional time at Progress Valley (yes it was really called Progress Valley) may have given me the time, the clarity and the additional life skills to stay sober for the rest of my life up until now.

Early in recovery I attended 4 AA meetings a week. I did that for several years, and then I started going less and less often until I had stopped attending meetings altogether. About 6 years ago I was in a very deep depression. I went to a therapist and started telling her about my depression. I had been talking to the therapist for no more than 10 minutes when she asked me when the last time I attended an AA meeting was. It had been a very long time. The therapist asked if I would be willing to try meetings again. I said I would do anything that might help with this depression.

I started attending AA meetings in my small town in Arizona. At the meetings I attended I met young women who talked about “The House” or the “Renaissance House” and I grew curious about this “House.” Eventually I got a job at the Renaissance House which was a small treatment facility for homeless women and their children. I worked at the Renaissance House as a behavioral health tech for over 2 years.

One day one of the women who was a resident in the house and another staff person were talking about the fact that we no longer had a Narcotics Anonymous meeting in our small town, and that the women in the house had to go to 4 or 5 AA meetings a week, but most of them did not identify as alcoholics (not unlike the people who originally started NA using the AA model back in 1953.) We did some research and the three of us who had never attended one NA meeting between us started an NA group. When I left Bisbee 5 years later, the group was still going strong.

For years I picked up the Renaissance House residents to attend the Tuesday Night NA meeting both as an employee and later as a volunteer. I was the treasurer of the NA group for 5 years and I ran the meetings about half the time.

When I arrived in San Luis Obispo I started attending an AA meeting once a week and an NA meeting once a week. I was just elected treasurer of the AA meeting I attend, and I am currently in the process of a background check so I can go to the women’s jail and carry the Narcotics Anonymous message to the women in the jail.

My life is not just about service and participation in twelve step groups though. I joined SLO NightWriters after attending the Central Coast Writers Conference last fall. I am working on writing a memoir. I attend a weekly writer’s workshop. I have a blog where I post personal essays on a variety of subjects including addiction. I love to read. I watch lots of TV and movies. I love to go to the beach. I love to travel. I enjoy photography and social media. I am trying to become a better cook of low carb food and I reluctantly but persistently walk for miles each week while listening to audiobooks and podcasts. In the next several months I will be attending two Writers Conferences, the Unitarian Universalist Regional Assembly and the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly.

I am Hanje, an alcoholic and an addict. I believe that addiction is a disease. I believe that recovery is possible, only through abstinence. I believe that without recovery, addicts ultimately end up in jails, intuitions or dead. I believe that for me, when it comes to mood altering substances, one is too many and a thousand is never enough.

Finally, I believe that addiction need not be a life sentence. Like other chronic diseases, addiction can be managed successfully. Treatment enables people to counteract addiction’s powerful disruptive effects on brain and behavior and regain control of their lives.

My Friend Julie

I first met Julie about 5 years ago.  It was at a Unitarian Universalist Pacific Southwest District Assembly in Riverside, California. I was a vendor selling jewelry, books. chalices and a variety of other stuff.  Julie was a vendor selling an idea.  She may have had a brochure and a business card.  She had a smile that insisted you repay in kind.  Her booth was behind mine, and, as I had shown a passing interest, we chatted a lot that weekend.  She revealed to me that she was quite new to the Unitarian Universalist church and she had discovered it at about the same time she discovered recovery through Alcoholis Anyonymous.  She had a vision and she was at the District Assembly to share her vision.

I was an old timer.  I was born into the Unitarian Universalist chuch.  One of those “born Unitarians” that you sometimes hear about.  I had also been in recovery from drugs and alchohol for a lot of years…about 25 years at that point.  I thought Julie was nice, but kind of naïve.  I wished her well and enjoyed our conversations between customers. 

Last summer I was walking though the hall of vendors at the UUA General Assembly in Minneapolis and I ran into Julie again.  Her hair was a different color, but her smile was as engaging as ever, and I would have recognized her anywhere.  Julie was at a booth at General Assembly and The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Addictions Ministry and The Addictions & Recovery Ministry of the Unitarian Universalist Pacific Southwest District are now real things.  (Below are their mission statements and websites).  Julie’s dream was a reality and lots of ministers and congregations were getting involved in this movement. 

I saw Julie a few more times over the week.  She had organized AA meetings and Rational Recovery meetings every day of the Assembly.  I attended twice, with an old friend, and life-long Unitarian Universalist who had recently joined the fellowship of AA.

In between those two meetings with Julie, I was able to attend a workshop at another District Assembly about Addiction and Recovery Ministries which was lead by several UU ministers from California, as well as congregants from some of their churches.  The workshop was interesting and informative and I was beginning to feel connected to this movement. Lots of important issues were discussed as well as how some of these churches had been incorporating this healing ministry into their churches. 

Last year we bought a book at Julie’s booth called The Addiction Ministry Handbook: A Guide For Faith Communities by Denis Meacham.  The book provides practical steps and information for faith communities serving members affected by drug and alcohol abuse.  It outlines:

1. The basic of drug abuse—from the causes of chemical dependence and the progression of drug use to the six stages toward changing addictve behavior.
2. The special role of faith comunities and pastoral caregives in supporting recovery.
3. Programming and initiatives that form the core of a congregational-bassed addiction ministry.
4. An alcohol abuse assessment tool, a congregational addiction assessment questionnaire and a list of web sites and books for futher information.

Some churches have had a series of workshops educating themselves about addiction and recovery in the same way the church I attend has had workshops on immigration issues and on LGBT issues when we were on our way to becoming a Welcoming Congregation.  Some UU churches have worked on making the 12 steps and 12 traditions of 12 step groups and the 7 Principles and 6 sources of Unitarian Universalism, which have some similarities, work together in an ongoing way through addiction and recovery ministry.

As I look forward General Assembly this year at the end of June,. I hope that Julie will be there so we can reconnect and share our experiences over the past year.  I have changed my haircolor several times this year and I am looking forward to seeing what color Julie’s hair is this summer!  We will recognize each other because we have a deep connection even though we have only met a few times.  I hope there will be more workshops on adiction and recovery ministry that I can attend.  I hope I will learn ways to bring back what I learn to my friends in recovery and my fellow congregants.  I hope that there will be AA meetings during the Assembly which will give me a chance to regroup, learn from others from around the country and center myself in the midst of what can be a whrlwind of activity and a very exhausting few days.

The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Addictions Ministry is called to walk together with congregations and religious professionals to educate individuals, families, congregations and communities about the suffering caused by addiction.

Our purpose in doing this ministry is to transform cultures of misuse and abuse into cultures of healing, wholeness, and health.

http://www.uua.org/leaders/leaderslibrary/addictionsministry/131107.shtml

The Addictions & Recovery Ministry of the Unitarian Universalist Pacific Southwest District promotes and supports programs in UU organizations in Southern California, Southern Nevada and Arizona that are in alignment with our UU principles, that support addiction prevention and recovery for our church congregations and the larger community.

We hope to foster the development of addictions ministries throughout our denomination through sharing with Unitarian Universalists interested in the challenges and effects of addictions within our congregations and the larger society and to build connections and networks among them

http://www.pswdaddictions.org

We ARE a Welcoming Congregation

Way back at the beginning of the summer, I attended General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association in Minneapolis. I may or may not have promised to come back to that later, but I know in my mind I had every intention of returning to that subject.

So now, almost three months later, I want to start by telling a short but meaningful (to me) story about my General Assembly experience.

When you check in, you are given a name badge, some ribbons and some cards that send you to various booths in the vendor area to pick up additional ribbons and pins.  (For example I went to one booth that was representing the host city for the next General Assembly and picked up a pin celebrating the 50 years since the merger of Unitarianism and Universalism.  (see picture) (There will be some information about the merger in the sermon Whose Are We? that Rod is preparing for October 3, 2010)

I was disappointed but not surprised that I did not get a ticket for my Welcoming Congregation ribbon.  We had sent in our application for approval during the spring, and as I recall we received our letter of approval days if not hours before we left for General Assembly.  I was wandering around the vendor hall (and there will be a blog post about that as well) and noticed the booth that had the ribbons for Welcoming Congregation.  I talked to the woman at the booth, and explained my situation.  Our congregation had received approval for Welcoming Congregation, but probably not in time to get a ribbon in the registration materials.  She looked at my badge, which in addition to my name says “UU Church of Southeastern Arizona, Sierra Vista, AZ.” 

There was instant recognition in her eyes and she said, “Oh yes, I processed your application, of course you can have a ribbon.”  So, for the first time in my General Assembly experience I proudly wore my Welcoming Congregation ribbon.  I was very proud to be a member of this congregation who worked so hard to becoming a Welcoming Congregation and I hope this is a ministry that we will continue to proclaim and support from this point forward. (Be sure to stay tuned for more information about our Coming Out Sunday which is planned for October 17, 2010)

Worship Services

Although Rod has not been preaching during his sabbatical, and I have not attended an actual church service since we left Bisbee, I have had lots of opportunities to attend worship services.  In addition to the Sunday Morning Worship at General Assembly, which included the sermon “Our Greatest Challenge” by the new UUA President, Reverend Peter Morales, there were many worship services at both the ICUU Ministers’ Conference and the Theological Symposium.

The Sunday Morning Worship at GA is huge, which is probably its most stunning feature.  Hearing thousands of voices singing hymns together is a powerful and moving experience for me.  Hearing Peter Morales speak about the challenge of keeping visitors to our churches engaged and interested and coming back was motivating (and I suspect something that people in congregations everywhere will be discussing in a variety of venues over the months to come). 

I love to attend worship services at General Assembly.  In fact, when asked what I like about GA by a minister from another city, attending worship was the first thing that came to mind. This General Assembly I did not attend as many of the worship services as I usually do, so that was something of a disappointment for me.

Size is not the only thing that is interesting to me about the services at GA.  I am always fascinated by the things that various ministers focus on and emphasize in their services and just the opportunity to hear a variety of points of view makes it all very interesting.  Generally speaking, the speakers/ministers are very good.  In some of the larger venues there is a great deal of attention paid to all of the parts of a service from the lighting of the chalice to the music to the closing words.

At the ICUU Minister’s Conference and Theological Symposium, there was a worship scheduled for every morning and every evening.  The services were presented by people from all over the world.  The services were short, generally about a half an hour, and they went from the very serious to the very playful.  I attended every service and found it to be a wonderful way to start and end each day. (For those keeping score, there were a total of 13 services during the week at Rolduck.)

The first morning worship was led by an American and an Australian who both are working as Unitarian ministers in England, that evening the service was led by a sitar-playing minister from the Czech Republic.  The next morning worship was led by several ministers from Transylvania.  Later in the week we had services led by ministers from the Philippines, Uganda, South Africa and Canada.

It was fascinating to hear these ministers speak with their various accents and perspectives.  Coming from such a variety of backgrounds both personally and in terms of the churches that they serve, it was a mosaic of faces and voices and approaches. 

Most of the services that I attended had things in common; most of them had music and chalice lightings and a verbal message from the leaders of the worship.  But some included dancing, greeting and sharing things with the other people in attendance.  Some of the worship leaders sang, often engaging the rest of us.  (I was fascinated by how quickly they were able to teach us new songs.)  The services we held primarily in English, as it was the chosen language for the ICUU Ministers’ Conference and the ICUU Theological Symposium, however many people would share a blessing or a prayer in their own language as part of the worship, or as a way to open or close the worship. 

Ministers took the occasion of the worship services to move our minds, our hearts, our hands and sometimes even our dancing feet.  Each leader used his or her own ways to involve the group and some were wildly successful, others marginally so. 

No matter how tired I was at the end of each day, no matter how much I would have liked to sneak back to my room for a little post-breakfast nap, I pushed myself to attend the worships each morning and night and I was never sorry that I did.

If you attend or belong to the UUCSEA (Unitarian Universalist Church of Southeastern Arizona), I suspect you may hear echoes of some of these voices, some of these traditions, some of these messages over the year to come.  They were a powerful part of our experience.

Blogging Derailed in the Midst of a Horrible Summer Cold: Laryngitis Blamed for Silence: Train Ride Anticipated Later This Morning

Sorry I have not been able to blog for the past week or so.  My fingers are itching to type and I have lots to say, so hope to catch you and myself up in the next few days.  I got a horrible summer cold in Minnesota (probably caught at Urgent Care clinic, while there on other business).  I had flat out laryngitis over the 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th. 

We flew out of Minneapolis on the 6^th.  I was feeling better, but not great.  We were on planes, trains and trams for the next 12 or so hours and once we were somewhat rested we discovered that we had a problem with our computer cords which had three prongs and the adaptors we had, which could accept two prongs. 

Rod to the rescue, and voila, we are back in business.  New cords, new adaptors, we are hooked up!  Okay, so now that everything is connected again, and I am feeling mostly human (just a lingering dry cough), I am back to the blogs.

I loved that I actually was getting itchy fingers.  Writing on a daily basis is a relatively recent habit, and I was not sure if it was really ingrained, but it seems to be…so YEAH!  WIN!

I fear that things are going to get totally out of chronological order, as I have still not even finished with posts about the Twin Cities and General Assembly, but I am afraid I will have to apologize in advance and just say…blogs will be stream-of-consciousness from now on. 

So, this morning we are about to leave the fair city of Amsterdam, take a train about three hours to the south and join our fellow UUs from around the world for the ICUU conference.  This morning Rod is taking about 1/3 of our luggage and belongings to the hotel we will be staying in when we return to Amsterdam in a week.  I am catching up on blogging and correspondence.  We will then eat, and head for the train station where we plan to meet up with Wendy Williams and Betsy Brown from Flagstaff, who are currently in Amsterdam and are attending the same conference.

Looking forward to reporting some of our adventures to you in the hours and days to come.  Thanks for your patience!

GA 2010 to GA 2012: Minneapolis to Phoenix

The Unitarian Universalist General Assembly was held in Minneapolis, MN this year.  Minnesota is my state of birth and where I lived until I was 39 years old.  It was very interesting to be in my home state where one of the main topics of conversation (if not the main topic) was all about my current state of Arizona.

General Assembly is scheduled to be held in Phoenix in 2012.  As it has been widely discussed, many organizations and people who are against the bill that has come to be known as SB1070 in Arizona are planning to boycott Arizona.  Frankly, I initially considered that a logical reaction, remembering when people boycotted Arizona for being the only state in the union that did not observe Martin Luther King Day.  I was still a Minnesotan back then, and had been boycotting things all my life (green grapes, Nestlé’s products and so on and so forth).

When the Board of the UUA passed a resolution recommending that the UUA boycott Arizona in 2012, I started giving the idea a lot of thought.  I came to several reasons on my own, and was happy to discover that when the Arizona ministers met on a conference call to discuss, they discussed many of the points that I had raised.  The Arizona religious professionals took the stand that we needed to meet in Arizona; that we would be a much louder presence by being there than by not being there; that there were ways we could learn and teach and protest and engage immigration issues by being in Phoenix and supporting the people of Arizona.

Rod and I and everyone else sporting a badge with a home congregation in Arizona felt a little “celebrity spotlight” as people from around the country asked our opinions on the issue, which was really the thing most discussed at General Assembly.  We wore buttons that said “I Could Be Illegal” which were being passed out by young people from the Chandler congregation.

Rod, as a delegate to the plenary sessions, had a vote in the matter, and attended several mini-assemblies on the Boycott Phoenix issue.  ( Neither of our two other delegate spots were filled this year, and I urge people to consider attending GA and taking on this important work at future GAs..) 

In general it seemed that people were learning about the issues and by the end of GA, which is when the final vote took place; the vote was to hold a “Justice GA” in Phoenix in 2012.  GA will not be quite the same in 2012 as it usually is, but I think it will be a fabulous opportunity for us to host people from all over the country and “Stand On the Side of Love” together.

Crazy Busy at General Assembly

I have fallen way behind in my blogging this week. The Unitarian Universalist General Assembly (GA) has been busy and interesting and exciting.

Over the next week I will be posting a lot about GA both here and on my other blog (Natural Selections).

Hopefully Rod will post a guest blog or two about his GA experiences as well.

So apologies for the lag in action, but this week there will be lots of posts, so stay tuned!

Just Sitting Still (Still on the Porch)

Phase I of the trip came to an end yesterday at about 2 p.m. CDT.  The road trip is over and the deadlines are done, for the moment.  I am spending two nights at Hope and Dan’s house.  Then I will move across the river for UUA Ministry Days and finally UUA General Assembly. 

Yesterday after we arrived, Rod left for his workshop at the University of Minnesota and I spent some time on the porch before and after the graduation party I attended.  It was great to see a whole bunch of friends right away in one fell swoop.  And, the day before solstice was absolutely beautiful weather, and not a mosquito in sight.  Heavenly. 

Final two days of the drive were uneventful, more bad food.  More tunes, more cows, more discussions, debates, conversations.

The last time Rod and I drove to GA it was in Portland, OR.  Our friend Reverend Wendy Williams reminded us what a horrible trip that was.  It was the first time I had traveled since diabetes diagnosis and quitting smoking. I had this peculiar impression that Portland was close to Arizona, and well…it was highly stressful in so many ways.  This trip, aside from the really horrible food, was much easier, much less stressful and at the end of it I got to sleep in a room with glowing stars on the ceiling.

Today Rod is at a workshops all day at the U of M and I have a day off.  Plans are to read and relax and Hope and I are planning to see The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. this afternoon at the Grandview.  (Last summer I was under whelmed when we saw  Time Traveler’s Wife at the Grandview.  Loved the book.  Disappointed by the movie.) 

Will share thoughts about movie vs. book (Girl W/Dragon Tattoo) in my blog post tomorrow. 

So, the trip here was more pleasant than expected.  The Twin Cities phase has begun and so far has been, for me, every bit as pleasant as expected.  Hope to see lots more friends over the next few days and meet some new people as well. 

It has taken me hours and hours to write this post because Hope and I have been so busy talking.  (We also had to take a short break pick up a few things: Walgreen’s, Target, Caribou Coffee.)  Hope has left for a short work break now, and Henry (the dog) and I are left to our own devices, which for me include finishing the blog post and doing a little reading before we are off to the movie.