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May. 13th, 2003 04:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_rckI realized this weekend that I'd left something important out of my last set of entries. Sunday the 4th, Scott and I actually attended a service at the Unitarian Universalist Church. We'd only been talking about it for months now... The service lasted an hour and 15 minutes. My biggest problem with it was that I found the chairs dreadfully uncomfortable; by the halfway point, my left leg was cramping horribly. I came very close to getting up and walking out in hopes that moving would help, but the discomfort wasn't quite bad enough to push me to that.
I rather enjoyed the sermon, which was on humility. The minister referred to over a dozen different sources, including but not limited to the Bible, and I liked the juxtaposition of sources. I was a little concerned that Scott might be put off by how generic everything was, but he commented afterward that he found it refreshingly honest to see a congregation acknowledging that they'd built their church community for themselves rather than for any god. As Scott said, God doesn't *need* churches and congregations, and seeking truth and light is something one does for oneself and one's own needs.
After the service, we spent a little time at the social gathering in the community room. They had coffee, donuts, bagels and cider (and requested a donation for each serving). There were several booths up in the room for various charities and volunteer activities. Habitat for Humanity, the ACLU, NPR/PBS rubbed shoulders with the fundraisers for the church itself. Scott had been up for skipping the coffee social, but I pointed out that I really badly needed to walk a little before getting in the car. Walking may hurt, but it's the only thing that works the cramps out.
We didn't actually talk to anyone, just wandered the room a little. We did both sign a petition opposing the sneak and peek laws (every single piece of paper referred to them as "sneak and peak" which gave me some odd mental images) that will allow security/law enforcement forces to enter and search private residences without ever telling the occupants. I'm not at all convinced of the constitutionality of such practices or of the good faith of the agencies and individuals who'd implement the policy. In order for any of us to have freedoms, we have to make sure that everyone has them.
Oddly, I don't particularly object to the notion of a national id system of some sort. I suspect that some people would consider this a contradiction in my position. Of course, I do think that any national id system would have to be flexible enough to accept legal uses of pseudonyms and the like (It's currently quite legal to function under a name not legally yours as long as you're not doing anything illegal with either identity).
I rather enjoyed the sermon, which was on humility. The minister referred to over a dozen different sources, including but not limited to the Bible, and I liked the juxtaposition of sources. I was a little concerned that Scott might be put off by how generic everything was, but he commented afterward that he found it refreshingly honest to see a congregation acknowledging that they'd built their church community for themselves rather than for any god. As Scott said, God doesn't *need* churches and congregations, and seeking truth and light is something one does for oneself and one's own needs.
After the service, we spent a little time at the social gathering in the community room. They had coffee, donuts, bagels and cider (and requested a donation for each serving). There were several booths up in the room for various charities and volunteer activities. Habitat for Humanity, the ACLU, NPR/PBS rubbed shoulders with the fundraisers for the church itself. Scott had been up for skipping the coffee social, but I pointed out that I really badly needed to walk a little before getting in the car. Walking may hurt, but it's the only thing that works the cramps out.
We didn't actually talk to anyone, just wandered the room a little. We did both sign a petition opposing the sneak and peek laws (every single piece of paper referred to them as "sneak and peak" which gave me some odd mental images) that will allow security/law enforcement forces to enter and search private residences without ever telling the occupants. I'm not at all convinced of the constitutionality of such practices or of the good faith of the agencies and individuals who'd implement the policy. In order for any of us to have freedoms, we have to make sure that everyone has them.
Oddly, I don't particularly object to the notion of a national id system of some sort. I suspect that some people would consider this a contradiction in my position. Of course, I do think that any national id system would have to be flexible enough to accept legal uses of pseudonyms and the like (It's currently quite legal to function under a name not legally yours as long as you're not doing anything illegal with either identity).
