1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,930 2 00:00:06,930 --> 00:00:08,180 Susan Lawrence: Hi, everybody. 3 00:00:08,180 --> 00:00:09,200 I'm Susan Lawrence. 4 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:11,320 I'm the Managing Editor with Ministries and Faith 5 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:13,170 Development for the UUA. 6 00:00:13,170 --> 00:00:15,960 And I'm here to introduce and host our webinar 7 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:18,270 on Unitarian Universalist Military 8 00:00:18,270 --> 00:00:20,380 Ministry and Congregations. 9 00:00:20,380 --> 00:00:22,970 So welcome. 10 00:00:22,970 --> 00:00:26,250 And with us today, we have Gail Forsyth-Vail from our staff. 11 00:00:26,250 --> 00:00:28,990 She's the Adult Programs Director for the UUA. 12 00:00:28,990 --> 00:00:33,120 Shawna Foster was not able to join us today. 13 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:35,940 Robert LaVallee is the Military Ministry Coordinator 14 00:00:35,940 --> 00:00:39,080 for CLF, which is the UU Church of the Larger Fellowship. 15 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:41,720 And you'll be hearing more about that later. 16 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:43,530 Pat Kahn is in the background. 17 00:00:43,530 --> 00:00:46,120 She's unwell and not able to talk without coughing. 18 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:48,960 So I'm being your sole host today. 19 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:50,840 And I'm glad to do that. 20 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,180 So welcome. 21 00:00:53,180 --> 00:00:55,220 Here's some housekeeping for you. 22 00:00:55,220 --> 00:00:57,780 I see that you've all muted your mics, which I appreciate. 23 00:00:57,780 --> 00:01:00,750 And your cameras are not on, which is also very great. 24 00:01:00,750 --> 00:01:02,492 Thank you very much. 25 00:01:02,492 --> 00:01:03,950 We'll have some time for discussion 26 00:01:03,950 --> 00:01:05,680 when the webinar presentation is done. 27 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:08,000 And at that point, you'll be instructed 28 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:10,560 to raise your red flags if you would like to speak. 29 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:13,670 And you'll find that in the meeting chat box or the group 30 00:01:13,670 --> 00:01:16,569 meeting, depending which version of Fuze you're using. 31 00:01:16,569 --> 00:01:19,110 So you might want to click on your flag now just to practice. 32 00:01:19,110 --> 00:01:21,580 And if I see some flags come up where the names are, 33 00:01:21,580 --> 00:01:23,200 I'll know that you know how to do it. 34 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:25,320 So if you could find that. 35 00:01:25,320 --> 00:01:26,730 Yes has it. 36 00:01:26,730 --> 00:01:32,740 And I'll look around and-- it's right above the meeting chat 37 00:01:32,740 --> 00:01:35,700 box in the version of Fuze I'm using. 38 00:01:35,700 --> 00:01:38,040 And it's a little red flag. 39 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:39,480 OK. 40 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:41,180 Meanwhile, we have a meeting chat box 41 00:01:41,180 --> 00:01:43,430 where you'll be able to type any comments or questions 42 00:01:43,430 --> 00:01:44,721 you have during the discussion. 43 00:01:44,721 --> 00:01:46,540 And we'll keep an eye on that so we 44 00:01:46,540 --> 00:01:48,670 can return to your questions or comments 45 00:01:48,670 --> 00:01:50,470 after the presentations. 46 00:01:50,470 --> 00:01:53,540 And I'll also be posting some links in there for everybody 47 00:01:53,540 --> 00:01:55,150 while the presentation's going on. 48 00:01:55,150 --> 00:01:58,174 So you can cut and paste from the meeting chat box 49 00:01:58,174 --> 00:01:59,590 onto your own computer, so you may 50 00:01:59,590 --> 00:02:04,320 want to get a document ready to dump your information into. 51 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:06,610 If your audio sounds really bad, and you 52 00:02:06,610 --> 00:02:08,620 think it's something going on at your end, 53 00:02:08,620 --> 00:02:11,530 you should mute the audio on your computer 54 00:02:11,530 --> 00:02:12,746 and call in by phone. 55 00:02:12,746 --> 00:02:14,120 As soon as I'm done talking, I'll 56 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:17,500 post the phone number for you to have it easily handy. 57 00:02:17,500 --> 00:02:21,910 And you will be able to see silently on your computer 58 00:02:21,910 --> 00:02:25,400 and participate by phone fully every other way. 59 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:26,390 We may have glitches. 60 00:02:26,390 --> 00:02:28,070 So just be aware-- we're going to show 61 00:02:28,070 --> 00:02:30,130 some video later on during the presentations, 62 00:02:30,130 --> 00:02:32,840 and it's possible that if your download's not 63 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:35,330 at the right speed that matches what we're broadcasting, 64 00:02:35,330 --> 00:02:37,600 you might not be able to hear it as lovely as you 65 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:38,960 would like it to be. 66 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:41,114 So I'm going to post the links where 67 00:02:41,114 --> 00:02:43,030 you could go catch up and see the videos we're 68 00:02:43,030 --> 00:02:45,650 going to show on your own, on your own computer 69 00:02:45,650 --> 00:02:47,200 after the webinar is done. 70 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:49,150 And they'll also be included in the recorded 71 00:02:49,150 --> 00:02:50,220 version of this webinar. 72 00:02:50,220 --> 00:02:52,884 So after the whole thing's done, in a day or so, 73 00:02:52,884 --> 00:02:54,800 we'll get this posted and you can return to it 74 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:58,690 and catch up with didn't play well at your computer screen. 75 00:02:58,690 --> 00:03:00,850 I believe that's all I've got. 76 00:03:00,850 --> 00:03:04,050 Here is where the recording's going to be in a few days. 77 00:03:04,050 --> 00:03:06,735 And yes, I now send you to Gail Forsyth-Vail. 78 00:03:06,735 --> 00:03:08,360 Gail Forsyth-vail: Hi, hello everybody. 79 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:09,200 Good afternoon. 80 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:12,770 I'm really, really glad that you're here. 81 00:03:12,770 --> 00:03:16,360 And I want to just share with you the goals that we have 82 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:18,620 for the webinar this afternoon. 83 00:03:18,620 --> 00:03:20,410 And here they are. 84 00:03:20,410 --> 00:03:23,970 We would like you to consider why military ministry is 85 00:03:23,970 --> 00:03:26,910 important for Unitarian Universalist congregations 86 00:03:26,910 --> 00:03:28,450 and groups. 87 00:03:28,450 --> 00:03:31,320 We'd like you to become familiar with the UUA's Military 88 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:34,100 Ministry Toolkit and with the military outreach 89 00:03:34,100 --> 00:03:36,730 of the Church of the Larger Fellowship, which is sometimes 90 00:03:36,730 --> 00:03:38,800 called CLF. 91 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:40,880 And Church of the Larger Fellowship 92 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:42,770 is our online congregation. 93 00:03:42,770 --> 00:03:47,140 And it's actually, I believe, the largest UU congregation. 94 00:03:47,140 --> 00:03:50,180 Bob is nodding, so yes, that is true. 95 00:03:50,180 --> 00:03:52,670 And we'd like you to prepare to initiate 96 00:03:52,670 --> 00:03:54,370 a conversation about military ministry 97 00:03:54,370 --> 00:03:58,230 with your congregation's lay and professional leadership. 98 00:03:58,230 --> 00:04:01,160 And if you are part of that lay and professional leadership, 99 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:03,420 we'd like you to prepare to initiate 100 00:04:03,420 --> 00:04:05,570 that conversation with other people 101 00:04:05,570 --> 00:04:07,290 in congregational leadership. 102 00:04:07,290 --> 00:04:09,800 So those are our goals for today. 103 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:12,440 And we would like to welcome you. 104 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:16,670 I'd like to invite Bob to light our chalice. 105 00:04:16,670 --> 00:04:24,430 And we will move to the next slide. 106 00:04:24,430 --> 00:04:26,210 Robert Lavallee: Thank you, Gail. 107 00:04:26,210 --> 00:04:28,900 I'm Bob LaVallee with a ministerial intern 108 00:04:28,900 --> 00:04:30,550 at the Church of the Larger Fellowship. 109 00:04:30,550 --> 00:04:33,030 I'm a second-year student at Meadville as well. 110 00:04:33,030 --> 00:04:35,714 I'm also a veteran. 111 00:04:35,714 --> 00:04:37,880 I was in the Marine Corps about a hundred years ago, 112 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:40,430 and I served in Afghanistan as a Department 113 00:04:40,430 --> 00:04:42,310 of Defense contractor. 114 00:04:42,310 --> 00:04:44,470 I'd like to read this lovely Memorial Day 115 00:04:44,470 --> 00:04:47,450 prayer by Rev. Pescan. 116 00:04:47,450 --> 00:04:49,666 The prayer is in Bless All Who Serve. 117 00:04:49,666 --> 00:04:51,040 Do I have that aligned all right? 118 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:52,710 There we go. 119 00:04:52,710 --> 00:04:55,350 Which is a really helpful resource for both veterans, 120 00:04:55,350 --> 00:04:57,990 civilians, and active duty. 121 00:04:57,990 --> 00:05:00,270 And it's also available on the Worship Web, 122 00:05:00,270 --> 00:05:08,420 and Susan put the link in the chat box a couple of notes ago. 123 00:05:08,420 --> 00:05:10,620 And thanks, thank you, yes for the Semper Fi. 124 00:05:10,620 --> 00:05:13,340 Hoorah. 125 00:05:13,340 --> 00:05:16,200 Memorial Day Prayer. 126 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:18,660 Spirit of life, whom we have called 127 00:05:18,660 --> 00:05:23,870 by many names in thanksgiving and in anguish, 128 00:05:23,870 --> 00:05:28,290 bless the poets, and bless those who mourn. 129 00:05:28,290 --> 00:05:31,650 Send peace for the soldiers who did not make the wars, 130 00:05:31,650 --> 00:05:35,040 but whose lives were consumed by them. 131 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:39,490 Let strong trees grow above graves far from home. 132 00:05:39,490 --> 00:05:42,650 Breathe through the arms of their branches. 133 00:05:42,650 --> 00:05:45,190 The earth will swallow your tears 134 00:05:45,190 --> 00:05:48,150 while the dead sing no more. 135 00:05:48,150 --> 00:05:49,690 Never again. 136 00:05:49,690 --> 00:05:52,250 Remember me. 137 00:05:52,250 --> 00:05:56,130 For the wounded ones, and those who receive them back, 138 00:05:56,130 --> 00:05:59,420 let there be someone ready when the memories come. 139 00:05:59,420 --> 00:06:04,050 When the scars pole and the buried metal moves. 140 00:06:04,050 --> 00:06:06,640 And forgiveness for those of us who are not 141 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:10,710 there for our ignorance. 142 00:06:10,710 --> 00:06:17,230 And in us, veterans in a forest of a thousand fallen promises, 143 00:06:17,230 --> 00:06:21,420 let new leaves of protest grow on our stumps. 144 00:06:21,420 --> 00:06:25,140 Give us courage to answer the cry of humanity's pain. 145 00:06:25,140 --> 00:06:28,630 And with our bare hands, out of full hearts, 146 00:06:28,630 --> 00:06:35,200 with all our intelligence, let us create peace. 147 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:37,900 Blessed be. 148 00:06:37,900 --> 00:06:47,525 Gail Forsyth-vail: Thank you. 149 00:06:47,525 --> 00:06:48,650 Robert Lavallee: All right. 150 00:06:48,650 --> 00:06:51,560 We're going to open by getting a sense of who's here. 151 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:54,330 And Susan talked us through that process 152 00:06:54,330 --> 00:06:56,460 of raising your flag for a reason. 153 00:06:56,460 --> 00:06:59,660 Because now we're going to raise our flags, literally 154 00:06:59,660 --> 00:07:03,090 and metaphorically, to get a sense of who 155 00:07:03,090 --> 00:07:07,760 here has had what kinds of roles in the service 156 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:09,890 and in the civilian life. 157 00:07:09,890 --> 00:07:15,765 So raise your flag if you're currently on active duty. 158 00:07:15,765 --> 00:07:18,650 Do we have anybody who's currently on active duty who's 159 00:07:18,650 --> 00:07:26,330 watching us right now? 160 00:07:26,330 --> 00:07:27,180 All right. 161 00:07:27,180 --> 00:07:31,000 Well raise your flag if you are a reservist. 162 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:42,820 If you're currently in the reserve. 163 00:07:42,820 --> 00:07:44,750 No reservists on right now. 164 00:07:44,750 --> 00:07:49,590 But raise your flag if you are a veteran. 165 00:07:49,590 --> 00:08:00,070 And I'm raising my flag right now. 166 00:08:00,070 --> 00:08:01,350 All right. 167 00:08:01,350 --> 00:08:04,800 Two flags raised. 168 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:08,260 Raise your flag if you have a family member who is currently 169 00:08:08,260 --> 00:08:16,710 on active duty. 170 00:08:16,710 --> 00:08:25,910 Raise your flag if you have a family member who is a veteran. 171 00:08:25,910 --> 00:08:26,980 Three flags. 172 00:08:26,980 --> 00:08:29,280 Susan Lawrence. 173 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:30,650 And I saw some other ones. 174 00:08:30,650 --> 00:08:36,856 It went by so fast, I wasn't able to-- oh, Gail. 175 00:08:36,856 --> 00:08:43,210 And raise your flag if you have a-- oh, Connie. 176 00:08:43,210 --> 00:08:45,220 Raise your flag if you have a friend who 177 00:08:45,220 --> 00:08:51,630 is either a veteran, reservist, or active duty. 178 00:08:51,630 --> 00:08:54,610 All the flags come along. 179 00:08:54,610 --> 00:08:59,070 All right. 180 00:08:59,070 --> 00:09:04,937 Great. 181 00:09:04,937 --> 00:09:06,020 Thanks very much for that. 182 00:09:06,020 --> 00:09:07,728 Now we have a sense of who's in the room. 183 00:09:07,728 --> 00:09:12,120 I appreciate it very much. 184 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:14,610 Gail Forsyth-vail: Thank you, Bob. 185 00:09:14,610 --> 00:09:16,850 We're going to actually ask you-- 186 00:09:16,850 --> 00:09:21,430 we have found that, when talking about the military ministry, 187 00:09:21,430 --> 00:09:26,940 it's really important to find out what brought people 188 00:09:26,940 --> 00:09:31,530 to the webinar, or the workshop, or whatever it is we're doing. 189 00:09:31,530 --> 00:09:33,630 So what we're going to ask you to do 190 00:09:33,630 --> 00:09:37,040 is to actually type in the chat box what brought you 191 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:39,000 to this webinar today. 192 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:44,770 And then we're going to call on you to actually speak-- 193 00:09:44,770 --> 00:09:48,260 we'd like to hear your voice-- about why you are here today. 194 00:09:48,260 --> 00:09:51,790 What your and are you curious? 195 00:09:51,790 --> 00:09:53,920 Is there a particular reason that brought you 196 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:54,860 to this webinar today? 197 00:09:54,860 --> 00:09:58,100 So if you want to just take a couple of minutes and type 198 00:09:58,100 --> 00:10:00,640 in the chat box why you're here. 199 00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:05,210 And then we would like to invite you to speak and to tell us why 200 00:10:05,210 --> 00:10:07,850 you are at this webinar today. 201 00:10:07,850 --> 00:10:11,230 So let's take a minute and do that. 202 00:10:11,230 --> 00:10:15,070 And the chat box on my screen is on the lower left. 203 00:10:15,070 --> 00:10:51,590 And you can just type in the bar and then press Send. 204 00:10:51,590 --> 00:10:55,260 Gail Forsyth-vail: As some of you may continue to type, 205 00:10:55,260 --> 00:11:00,450 I'd actually like to invite Sharon to speak. 206 00:11:00,450 --> 00:11:02,060 You were the first one to chat. 207 00:11:02,060 --> 00:11:05,340 So I'm going to unmute you and invite you to speak 208 00:11:05,340 --> 00:11:08,860 about why you're here today. 209 00:11:08,860 --> 00:11:09,360 Oops. 210 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:11,480 Let me get you unmuted here. 211 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:13,490 OK. 212 00:11:13,490 --> 00:11:14,930 Sharon: Hey. 213 00:11:14,930 --> 00:11:17,650 I was just curious because I regularly 214 00:11:17,650 --> 00:11:21,830 have members with children, and they generally go active duty. 215 00:11:21,830 --> 00:11:26,920 We've had one who came back from Iraq with PTSD. 216 00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:29,530 And it was interesting being sensitive to him. 217 00:11:29,530 --> 00:11:32,550 He did not like to be in our congregation 218 00:11:32,550 --> 00:11:34,610 because it was so large. 219 00:11:34,610 --> 00:11:37,800 And he always had that sense of not 220 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:40,190 liking to sit because his back was to the door, 221 00:11:40,190 --> 00:11:43,140 and that kind of made me aware of some of his issues. 222 00:11:43,140 --> 00:11:45,430 We have another woman dying of cancer who's 60. 223 00:11:45,430 --> 00:11:49,390 Her son is on maneuvers in Romania. 224 00:11:49,390 --> 00:11:52,290 And I'm fairly certain that she will 225 00:11:52,290 --> 00:11:53,980 die before he returns in March. 226 00:11:53,980 --> 00:11:56,150 And so I'm kind of thinking about him 227 00:11:56,150 --> 00:12:00,190 for whenever he returns. 228 00:12:00,190 --> 00:12:02,460 And other folks who have their-- generally, 229 00:12:02,460 --> 00:12:04,364 their adult children-- deployed someplace. 230 00:12:04,364 --> 00:12:05,780 Gail Forsyth-vail: Sharon, can you 231 00:12:05,780 --> 00:12:07,370 tell us where you're located? 232 00:12:07,370 --> 00:12:08,994 Sharon: Yeah, I'm in Cincinnati, Ohio. 233 00:12:08,994 --> 00:12:09,910 Gail Forsyth-vail: OK. 234 00:12:09,910 --> 00:12:12,240 Thank you. 235 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:13,860 All right. 236 00:12:13,860 --> 00:12:15,540 Lise, would you like to speak? 237 00:12:15,540 --> 00:12:18,510 Let me unmute you. 238 00:12:18,510 --> 00:12:19,820 Lise: Hi. 239 00:12:19,820 --> 00:12:20,607 Can you hear me? 240 00:12:20,607 --> 00:12:21,690 Gail Forsyth-vail: Mm-hmm. 241 00:12:21,690 --> 00:12:22,600 Lise: Great. 242 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:24,850 First of all, for all of those who are wondering, 243 00:12:24,850 --> 00:12:28,083 I pronounce my name Lisa, like it's spelled with an A. 244 00:12:28,083 --> 00:12:29,470 Gail Forsyth-vail: Oh, OK. 245 00:12:29,470 --> 00:12:30,770 Lise: That's a challenge. 246 00:12:30,770 --> 00:12:35,050 Anyway, my nephew most recently served in the Marines, 247 00:12:35,050 --> 00:12:37,550 and that was a real good learning 248 00:12:37,550 --> 00:12:38,850 experience for all of us. 249 00:12:38,850 --> 00:12:42,510 I have older relatives who served in the Navy and Army, 250 00:12:42,510 --> 00:12:44,030 and things like that. 251 00:12:44,030 --> 00:12:48,210 But because he chose to join the Marines right 252 00:12:48,210 --> 00:12:51,520 when we were going into Afghanistan and Iraq, 253 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:53,870 it was quite controversial in our family. 254 00:12:53,870 --> 00:12:55,460 And I find that those kinds of things 255 00:12:55,460 --> 00:12:57,522 are also controversial in our congregations. 256 00:12:57,522 --> 00:13:03,892 And so I'd like to help people negotiate that controversy. 257 00:13:03,892 --> 00:13:05,100 Gail Forsyth-vail: Thank you. 258 00:13:05,100 --> 00:13:07,410 And Lisa, where are you located? 259 00:13:07,410 --> 00:13:09,104 Lise: Elgin, Illinois. 260 00:13:09,104 --> 00:13:10,020 Gail Forsyth-vail: OK. 261 00:13:10,020 --> 00:13:14,140 Thank you. 262 00:13:14,140 --> 00:13:17,960 Susan, do you want to speak? 263 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:18,730 I'll unmute you. 264 00:13:18,730 --> 00:13:20,570 Susan Lawrence: What Lisa said. 265 00:13:20,570 --> 00:13:21,210 Well said. 266 00:13:21,210 --> 00:13:23,730 Thank you. 267 00:13:23,730 --> 00:13:30,490 Gail Forsyth-vail: And Connie, let me unmute you here. 268 00:13:30,490 --> 00:13:30,990 Oops. 269 00:13:30,990 --> 00:13:34,040 There you go. 270 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:35,772 Connie: Hi. 271 00:13:35,772 --> 00:13:36,621 Can you hear me? 272 00:13:36,621 --> 00:13:38,120 Gail Forsyth-vail: Yes, we sure can. 273 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:39,760 Hi, Connie. 274 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:42,020 Connie: Yeah, I'm a community minister 275 00:13:42,020 --> 00:13:45,470 and a couple years ago, I took a class called 276 00:13:45,470 --> 00:13:48,520 Writing As A Healing Ministry down at the Pacific 277 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:51,230 School of Religion in Berkeley. 278 00:13:51,230 --> 00:13:56,500 And the instructor showed a video 279 00:13:56,500 --> 00:14:00,590 of Maxine Hong Kingston doing writing groups 280 00:14:00,590 --> 00:14:02,930 with Vietnam veterans. 281 00:14:02,930 --> 00:14:04,710 And that just really touched my heart 282 00:14:04,710 --> 00:14:08,260 because that's my generation. 283 00:14:08,260 --> 00:14:10,230 That's my age group. 284 00:14:10,230 --> 00:14:13,730 And I just feel like I've never really-- I 285 00:14:13,730 --> 00:14:17,040 remember when the Vietnam vets were coming back, 286 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:18,670 and I had neighbors. 287 00:14:18,670 --> 00:14:23,200 And I just didn't know what to do or what to say. 288 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,960 And now my niece is married to someone that's 289 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:28,970 on active duty in the Army. 290 00:14:28,970 --> 00:14:35,990 And many of my older relatives did serve in World War II. 291 00:14:35,990 --> 00:14:38,390 So I just feel like I wanted to know 292 00:14:38,390 --> 00:14:42,960 more of what I could do to help support or our veterans. 293 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:45,870 Because, especially in the Vietnam generation, 294 00:14:45,870 --> 00:14:50,640 I feel like they didn't really get much from us as a society. 295 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:52,962 So that's really my interest. 296 00:14:52,962 --> 00:14:54,170 Gail Forsyth-vail: Thank you. 297 00:14:54,170 --> 00:14:56,320 And Connie, where are you located again? 298 00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:57,970 Connie: I'm in Portland, Oregon. 299 00:14:57,970 --> 00:14:59,980 Gail Forsyth-vail: OK, thank you. 300 00:14:59,980 --> 00:15:00,840 Thanks. 301 00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:08,590 Is there anyone else who would like to speak? 302 00:15:08,590 --> 00:15:12,156 OK. 303 00:15:12,156 --> 00:15:13,780 We're going to bring a couple of people 304 00:15:13,780 --> 00:15:20,130 into this webinar via video. 305 00:15:20,130 --> 00:15:24,440 A couple of years ago, when the Military Ministry Toolkit, 306 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:26,830 recently published by the UUA, published last spring 307 00:15:26,830 --> 00:15:30,394 by the UUA, was initially a project 308 00:15:30,394 --> 00:15:32,560 that was done by the Church of the Larger Fellowship 309 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:36,950 as an internship project that Seanan Holland, Rev. Seanan 310 00:15:36,950 --> 00:15:39,460 Holland, who's a military chaplain, did. 311 00:15:39,460 --> 00:15:41,980 And it was handed over to the UUA 312 00:15:41,980 --> 00:15:47,990 to make it something that could be led by somebody other 313 00:15:47,990 --> 00:15:52,170 than Seanan, who did a gorgeous stop, beautiful job leading 314 00:15:52,170 --> 00:15:54,750 it himself. 315 00:15:54,750 --> 00:15:58,120 So it came to our staff group because we create 316 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:00,140 religious education resources. 317 00:16:00,140 --> 00:16:01,600 And one of the things that we did 318 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:04,950 is invite a number of people with connections 319 00:16:04,950 --> 00:16:07,310 to the military, either veterans, or active duty 320 00:16:07,310 --> 00:16:11,730 people, or family members-- Unitarian Universalists-- 321 00:16:11,730 --> 00:16:13,780 to answer the simple question, why 322 00:16:13,780 --> 00:16:17,230 should Unitarian Universalists be 323 00:16:17,230 --> 00:16:19,110 engaged in military ministry? 324 00:16:19,110 --> 00:16:20,660 And the result is a video. 325 00:16:20,660 --> 00:16:23,020 So we're going to show you a couple of short clips 326 00:16:23,020 --> 00:16:27,930 from what is a 23-minute video that is available on UUA.org. 327 00:16:27,930 --> 00:16:30,980 But I'm going to just show you two short clips. 328 00:16:30,980 --> 00:16:43,140 The first one is Jeff Pixley, who is active duty person. 329 00:16:43,140 --> 00:16:46,390 And this is Jeff speaking about his experience. 330 00:16:46,390 --> 00:16:55,854 So it's a little over a minute. 331 00:16:55,854 --> 00:16:57,770 Jeff Pixley: Why should Unitarian Universalist 332 00:16:57,770 --> 00:16:59,269 congregations reach out to military? 333 00:16:59,269 --> 00:17:02,640 Because there are thousands of people like me in the military. 334 00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:05,510 Although you may get the sense if you served, 335 00:17:05,510 --> 00:17:08,380 that everybody's like you. 336 00:17:08,380 --> 00:17:13,089 Or everybody's of one faith or another, or primarily 337 00:17:13,089 --> 00:17:15,670 deeply religious, or evangelical Christian, 338 00:17:15,670 --> 00:17:19,380 or Catholic, or Jewish, or some Protestant. 339 00:17:19,380 --> 00:17:23,740 Without that Unitarian Universalist outreach, 340 00:17:23,740 --> 00:17:26,550 there could be dozens of people in any given installation 341 00:17:26,550 --> 00:17:29,990 or unit that just don't feel like they have a place, like I 342 00:17:29,990 --> 00:17:32,310 did for decades. 343 00:17:32,310 --> 00:17:34,020 So reaching out and finding one person 344 00:17:34,020 --> 00:17:35,936 and bringing them in the fold, and making them 345 00:17:35,936 --> 00:17:38,990 feel welcomed and appreciated, and like they're 346 00:17:38,990 --> 00:17:39,710 part of family. 347 00:17:39,710 --> 00:17:43,040 A place where they can let their hair down and be themselves, 348 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:46,380 even just a couple hours a week, has been huge for me. 349 00:17:46,380 --> 00:17:52,310 It's honestly changed my life. 350 00:17:52,310 --> 00:17:54,880 Gail Forsyth-vail: OK. 351 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:57,350 And that was Jeff Pixley. 352 00:17:57,350 --> 00:17:59,970 And I'm also going to show you Kimberly Paquette, who 353 00:17:59,970 --> 00:18:06,030 is a district staff person and a veteran, 354 00:18:06,030 --> 00:18:22,224 who speaks about her experience. 355 00:18:22,224 --> 00:18:24,140 Kimberly Paquette: I first identified publicly 356 00:18:24,140 --> 00:18:27,240 as a veteran years after leaving military service, 357 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:28,920 during a Veteran's Day worship service 358 00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:31,030 in my home congregation. 359 00:18:31,030 --> 00:18:34,050 I was immediately struck by one woman approached me 360 00:18:34,050 --> 00:18:35,940 after the service. 361 00:18:35,940 --> 00:18:39,120 She was a long-time beloved member of the congregation, 362 00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:41,210 and her high school age son was considering 363 00:18:41,210 --> 00:18:43,090 joining the Marines. 364 00:18:43,090 --> 00:18:45,130 She did not know what to do. 365 00:18:45,130 --> 00:18:47,340 She was certain that, as a peace-loving people, 366 00:18:47,340 --> 00:18:49,970 her congregation, our congregation, 367 00:18:49,970 --> 00:18:54,730 would not understand or support her or her son. 368 00:18:54,730 --> 00:18:56,990 We need to do better than that. 369 00:18:56,990 --> 00:19:00,130 Our congregations must be open to our members, their families, 370 00:19:00,130 --> 00:19:03,110 and friends who choose to serve in the military. 371 00:19:03,110 --> 00:19:06,530 Our military needs deep change, and we are best 372 00:19:06,530 --> 00:19:08,350 prepared to do that change when it's 373 00:19:08,350 --> 00:19:11,460 inundated with people, our people, who 374 00:19:11,460 --> 00:19:22,570 work for peace, justice, are tolerant, and respectful. 375 00:19:22,570 --> 00:19:26,810 Gail Forsyth-vail: OK. 376 00:19:26,810 --> 00:19:30,360 So I wanted to bring their voices in because I 377 00:19:30,360 --> 00:19:31,760 think they're important voices. 378 00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:36,710 And I will recommend to you the entire video as a way 379 00:19:36,710 --> 00:19:40,680 to help your congregational leadership begin 380 00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:44,270 to hear some of the many, many Unitarian Universalist voices 381 00:19:44,270 --> 00:19:47,790 with experience with the military. 382 00:19:47,790 --> 00:19:51,290 So I'm going to turn this over at this point to Bob, 383 00:19:51,290 --> 00:19:57,270 with the question, who is served by military ministry? 384 00:19:57,270 --> 00:19:59,790 Robert Lavallee: Thank you, Gail. 385 00:19:59,790 --> 00:20:04,080 Well, that role call we just did answers the question. 386 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:08,682 That we're all engaged in the military, one way or another. 387 00:20:08,682 --> 00:20:12,140 We're coming up on 14 years of war in this country. 388 00:20:12,140 --> 00:20:15,560 2.6 million men and women have passed 389 00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:19,070 through Iraq and Afghanistan in the last 14 years. 390 00:20:19,070 --> 00:20:21,165 And they're coming back home to this country 391 00:20:21,165 --> 00:20:23,380 and to our congregations. 392 00:20:23,380 --> 00:20:27,070 So we need to understand how to welcome them and have 393 00:20:27,070 --> 00:20:29,000 conversations with them. 394 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:32,840 Exactly the motivation that folks are talking about. 395 00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:36,400 There's an appalling statistic-- I worked as a chaplain 396 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:38,150 this summer at the Veterans Administration 397 00:20:38,150 --> 00:20:40,490 hospital in New York City. 398 00:20:40,490 --> 00:20:42,850 And then there's an appalling statistic 399 00:20:42,850 --> 00:20:47,840 that 22 veterans a day, 22 a day are committing 400 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:50,320 suicide in this country. 401 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:52,890 It's unacceptable. 402 00:20:52,890 --> 00:20:56,040 And I think, based on my experience, 403 00:20:56,040 --> 00:20:58,240 a big driver of that suicide rate 404 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:02,340 is the isolation that veterans feel when they get here. 405 00:21:02,340 --> 00:21:05,170 And the funny thing, I think the thing that we really 406 00:21:05,170 --> 00:21:09,290 need to get past is that the experiences that people 407 00:21:09,290 --> 00:21:12,610 have in the military-- good, bad, and indifferent-- 408 00:21:12,610 --> 00:21:15,020 are actually not as unique as they tell themselves, 409 00:21:15,020 --> 00:21:16,180 as we all tell themselves. 410 00:21:16,180 --> 00:21:18,260 And that these experiences actually 411 00:21:18,260 --> 00:21:21,400 have a lot in common with experiences that people 412 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:23,260 in the civilian world do, too. 413 00:21:23,260 --> 00:21:30,512 For example, you may experience PTSD from being near an IED. 414 00:21:30,512 --> 00:21:33,680 But if you're someone who's been trapped in a domestic violence 415 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:35,940 situation, that's a situation that 416 00:21:35,940 --> 00:21:38,350 will engender PTSD as well. 417 00:21:38,350 --> 00:21:42,630 Likewise, moral injury, which is the feeling of shame that 418 00:21:42,630 --> 00:21:45,730 comes from doing something that you know was wrong, 419 00:21:45,730 --> 00:21:48,320 or letting something happen that you know is wrong. 420 00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:51,060 Like accidentally killing a civilian. 421 00:21:51,060 --> 00:21:54,860 But I think maybe less dramatically. 422 00:21:54,860 --> 00:21:57,100 But in the civilian world, civilians 423 00:21:57,100 --> 00:21:58,580 experience moral injury, too, when 424 00:21:58,580 --> 00:22:01,010 they see things that are wrong or are somehow party 425 00:22:01,010 --> 00:22:04,874 to things that are wrong, but aren't 426 00:22:04,874 --> 00:22:06,790 able to do anything about it, or feel like you 427 00:22:06,790 --> 00:22:08,600 didn't make the right decision. 428 00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:10,400 So these kinds of common experiences 429 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:12,700 actually mean that in our communities, 430 00:22:12,700 --> 00:22:14,260 especially in our church communities, 431 00:22:14,260 --> 00:22:17,310 we can have conversations that heal everyone, 432 00:22:17,310 --> 00:22:21,960 rather than separating out the military from that. 433 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:26,540 Pardon my dogs. 434 00:22:26,540 --> 00:22:28,730 We've been a country at war for a long time, 435 00:22:28,730 --> 00:22:30,520 and as Unitarian Universalists, I 436 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:36,110 think we need to acknowledge it, embrace it, and engage with it. 437 00:22:36,110 --> 00:22:37,940 I'll stop there, Gail. 438 00:22:37,940 --> 00:22:41,630 Gail Forsyth-vail: Thanks, Bob. 439 00:22:41,630 --> 00:22:45,460 And again, the question, who is served by military ministry? 440 00:22:45,460 --> 00:22:49,950 Our active duty personnel, our chaplains 441 00:22:49,950 --> 00:22:53,500 tell us that it's a pretty common time-- 442 00:22:53,500 --> 00:22:57,090 and I think we know this anecdotally-- for a young adult 443 00:22:57,090 --> 00:23:01,810 to have a crisis of faith and the military ministry-- 444 00:23:01,810 --> 00:23:05,130 what we hear from our chaplains is that they are actually 445 00:23:05,130 --> 00:23:07,730 the largest young adult ministry in Unitarian Universalism. 446 00:23:07,730 --> 00:23:10,970 And it's a very diverse young adult ministry. 447 00:23:10,970 --> 00:23:14,390 And often the faith of childhood does not 448 00:23:14,390 --> 00:23:16,400 hold up for young adults when they 449 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:18,545 are faced with the situations that they 450 00:23:18,545 --> 00:23:20,400 are faced with in the military. 451 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:25,320 So Unitarian Universalism can provide a way for people 452 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:31,060 to process things, to work with a crisis in faith, 453 00:23:31,060 --> 00:23:34,490 and to come out the other side spiritually healthy. 454 00:23:34,490 --> 00:23:38,310 And Bob, you want to say more about how our active duty 455 00:23:38,310 --> 00:23:39,150 personnel are-- 456 00:23:39,150 --> 00:23:39,560 Robert Lavallee: Sure. 457 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:41,300 I had a firsthand experience of this. 458 00:23:41,300 --> 00:23:46,500 And you talk about chaplains. 459 00:23:46,500 --> 00:23:49,470 I went to Afghanistan in mid-2012. 460 00:23:49,470 --> 00:23:52,800 I spent four months in Kabul and then went down 461 00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:54,780 to Kandahar for eight months. 462 00:23:54,780 --> 00:23:57,270 And I was repairing the x-ray scanners 463 00:23:57,270 --> 00:23:59,020 that they use at the gates to check people 464 00:23:59,020 --> 00:24:00,230 in vehicles for IEDs. 465 00:24:00,230 --> 00:24:03,230 It's a very high stress job. 466 00:24:03,230 --> 00:24:09,800 And being over there-- I lived in Boston 467 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:12,150 and in Washington, DC, which are places where 468 00:24:12,150 --> 00:24:14,820 the values on the street are kind 469 00:24:14,820 --> 00:24:17,500 of the same as the ones-- I was thoroughly-- 470 00:24:17,500 --> 00:24:19,360 kind of the same ones inside the sanctuary. 471 00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:22,680 I was thoroughly in the NPR bubble. 472 00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:25,905 But over in Afghanistan, you're in the midst of sort 473 00:24:25,905 --> 00:24:28,570 of the moral entropy of war. 474 00:24:28,570 --> 00:24:31,600 And it's a very, very hard place, spiritually. 475 00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:35,060 So when I discovered a little tiny UU congregation 476 00:24:35,060 --> 00:24:41,460 in Kandahar, when I walked into that little tiny meeting 477 00:24:41,460 --> 00:24:44,330 the first time, the sense of homecoming, 478 00:24:44,330 --> 00:24:46,620 of finding a place where my values where affirmed 479 00:24:46,620 --> 00:24:49,082 was so powerful. 480 00:24:49,082 --> 00:24:50,930 And I was so grateful for it. 481 00:24:50,930 --> 00:24:53,690 Because frankly, if you're a progressive person in a war 482 00:24:53,690 --> 00:24:58,960 zone, you spend a lot of time keeping your mouth shut. 483 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:00,130 Gail Forsyth-vail: Wow. 484 00:25:00,130 --> 00:25:04,540 We also know that our military has many gay and lesbian 485 00:25:04,540 --> 00:25:09,360 people, and that Unitarian Universalist chaplains have 486 00:25:09,360 --> 00:25:11,920 a long and deep experience, and Unitarian Universalist 487 00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:15,460 lay people have long and deep experience with being 488 00:25:15,460 --> 00:25:17,520 welcoming and affirming. 489 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:22,650 And our chaplains are actually really helpful in situations 490 00:25:22,650 --> 00:25:25,310 where other chaplains either are prohibited 491 00:25:25,310 --> 00:25:28,820 by their theology or their denomination 492 00:25:28,820 --> 00:25:31,710 from providing the kind of support needed there. 493 00:25:31,710 --> 00:25:35,750 Or else are not skilled in that because they have not 494 00:25:35,750 --> 00:25:36,840 had that experience. 495 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:43,910 So there's another place where our voice is very, very 496 00:25:43,910 --> 00:25:45,290 important. 497 00:25:45,290 --> 00:25:48,910 And I think if you also listen to Kim Paquette's full piece 498 00:25:48,910 --> 00:25:51,370 on the videotape, and I hope you will, 499 00:25:51,370 --> 00:25:54,310 she talks about-- and the same thing that Jeff Pixley talked 500 00:25:54,310 --> 00:25:56,560 about-- a place to be yourself. 501 00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:58,360 Kimberly talks about her congregation 502 00:25:58,360 --> 00:26:00,850 when she was in active duty. 503 00:26:00,850 --> 00:26:04,045 She was in the Northwest and going to a congregation 504 00:26:04,045 --> 00:26:06,170 where it was the only place anybody ever called her 505 00:26:06,170 --> 00:26:09,825 by her first name, and how important that was 506 00:26:09,825 --> 00:26:13,370 to her at that particular time. 507 00:26:13,370 --> 00:26:18,750 So do you want to say anything more about chaplaincy, Bob? 508 00:26:18,750 --> 00:26:23,680 Robert Lavallee: Sure, well it's post don't ask, 509 00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:25,820 don't tell military. 510 00:26:25,820 --> 00:26:29,754 But the chaplain corps, frankly, has not caught up with that. 511 00:26:29,754 --> 00:26:31,170 When I was Afghanistan, there were 512 00:26:31,170 --> 00:26:33,150 five Unitarian Universalist chaplains 513 00:26:33,150 --> 00:26:36,287 in the entire military, and only one of them in country. 514 00:26:36,287 --> 00:26:37,870 And I just happened to be lucky enough 515 00:26:37,870 --> 00:26:44,690 to have that one at Kandahar with me. 516 00:26:44,690 --> 00:26:50,080 If you're a gay, lesbian, queer, unless you 517 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:52,736 happen to be fortunate enough to have a UU chaplain or United 518 00:26:52,736 --> 00:26:56,500 Church of Christ chaplain nearby, 519 00:26:56,500 --> 00:26:58,910 you're not going to get your spiritual food because 520 00:26:58,910 --> 00:27:01,410 of the theology that you're encountering. 521 00:27:01,410 --> 00:27:04,520 And that's really-- so our chaplains-- 522 00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:06,510 and frankly, Unitarian Universalist chaplains 523 00:27:06,510 --> 00:27:08,950 are really solid on the interfaith things. 524 00:27:08,950 --> 00:27:13,754 So they make great military chaplains. 525 00:27:13,754 --> 00:27:14,920 Gail Forsyth-vail: Fabulous. 526 00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:17,820 Thank you. 527 00:27:17,820 --> 00:27:20,420 And who else is served by military ministry? 528 00:27:20,420 --> 00:27:21,040 Veterans. 529 00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:23,070 And I will say that that's actually 530 00:27:23,070 --> 00:27:25,000 a photo taken in my hometown. 531 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:27,970 And my dad is among those veterans 532 00:27:27,970 --> 00:27:30,510 at the annual Veteran's Day ceremony. 533 00:27:30,510 --> 00:27:34,180 So I'm kind of fond of that picture. 534 00:27:34,180 --> 00:27:36,920 But Bob, talk about that. 535 00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:40,450 Why is military ministry important for veterans? 536 00:27:40,450 --> 00:27:44,460 Robert Lavallee: Well for us as Unitarian Universalists, when 537 00:27:44,460 --> 00:27:45,850 we get back in our congregations, 538 00:27:45,850 --> 00:27:47,940 this is where the rubber hits the road 539 00:27:47,940 --> 00:27:50,640 in the lives of chaplains, and the lives of veterans 540 00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:52,040 in our denominations. 541 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:55,220 The thing that veterans, just like any other human 542 00:27:55,220 --> 00:28:00,500 being needs, is the ability to tell their story their way. 543 00:28:00,500 --> 00:28:02,420 And to get past the stereotypes. 544 00:28:02,420 --> 00:28:07,120 And there are some great and powerful and really damaging 545 00:28:07,120 --> 00:28:12,991 tropes that we veterans and civilians alike embrace. 546 00:28:12,991 --> 00:28:14,490 For example, there's this whole idea 547 00:28:14,490 --> 00:28:16,457 that all veterans are heroes. 548 00:28:16,457 --> 00:28:18,540 Which is, if you've ever walked through an airport 549 00:28:18,540 --> 00:28:21,410 or watched a football game, you've seen this thing. 550 00:28:21,410 --> 00:28:26,270 This is really unhelpful because veterans come back, 551 00:28:26,270 --> 00:28:28,237 and they may be experiencing some regrets 552 00:28:28,237 --> 00:28:29,070 about what they did. 553 00:28:29,070 --> 00:28:32,620 They may have moral injury. 554 00:28:32,620 --> 00:28:35,100 And it doesn't help them to be told that, 555 00:28:35,100 --> 00:28:37,130 no matter what they did, they were heroes. 556 00:28:37,130 --> 00:28:40,730 And I don't want to in any way diminish people's service, 557 00:28:40,730 --> 00:28:43,580 but it's different for everybody. 558 00:28:43,580 --> 00:28:45,010 And then we have this other trope 559 00:28:45,010 --> 00:28:47,801 where we tell ourselves that-- and this 560 00:28:47,801 --> 00:28:49,550 is really popular with liberals, frankly-- 561 00:28:49,550 --> 00:28:51,280 that all veterans are victims. 562 00:28:51,280 --> 00:28:55,930 That they're somehow trapped in a socioeconomic system 563 00:28:55,930 --> 00:28:58,670 that brainwashes them, and they don't have any choices. 564 00:28:58,670 --> 00:29:00,950 And they do have choices. 565 00:29:00,950 --> 00:29:04,770 And they make choices all along. 566 00:29:04,770 --> 00:29:07,910 And for them to help heal from the choices they made, 567 00:29:07,910 --> 00:29:10,330 the decisions they made, they need 568 00:29:10,330 --> 00:29:12,760 to have that acknowledged that they 569 00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:16,010 did make some decisions so they can atone and make 570 00:29:16,010 --> 00:29:17,940 amends and move on. 571 00:29:17,940 --> 00:29:20,280 But it's a long process for healing. 572 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:26,127 So I think I'll stop right there. 573 00:29:26,127 --> 00:29:27,960 But the whole thing about being able to tell 574 00:29:27,960 --> 00:29:31,300 your story your way is the most important thing. 575 00:29:31,300 --> 00:29:35,960 Getting past the stereotypes. 576 00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:39,330 Gail Forsyth-vail: I would also say that-- as I said, 577 00:29:39,330 --> 00:29:41,390 I'm the daughter of a vet and I actually 578 00:29:41,390 --> 00:29:46,430 had a cousin who served in Afghanistan and Iraq. 579 00:29:46,430 --> 00:29:50,130 And I will say that for both of them, 580 00:29:50,130 --> 00:29:54,860 military service is a foundational part 581 00:29:54,860 --> 00:29:56,200 of their identity. 582 00:29:56,200 --> 00:30:01,350 And so we don't want to have our folks in congregations 583 00:30:01,350 --> 00:30:03,250 take something that they might see 584 00:30:03,250 --> 00:30:05,000 as a foundational part of their identity 585 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:07,160 and have to be closeted about it. 586 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:11,540 They don't want to-- we don't want 587 00:30:11,540 --> 00:30:14,350 to take those stories where people really-- it's 588 00:30:14,350 --> 00:30:15,430 the stuff of life. 589 00:30:15,430 --> 00:30:18,840 Those ethical dilemmas or the growing-up moments, 590 00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:24,089 or the moments of really being-- my dad talks about, 591 00:30:24,089 --> 00:30:26,130 in his experience the first time he ever actually 592 00:30:26,130 --> 00:30:29,000 interacted with a person of color was in the military. 593 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:30,760 He had no experience prior to that. 594 00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:32,970 This would have been 1952. 595 00:30:32,970 --> 00:30:37,140 And how important that was for him, formationally. 596 00:30:37,140 --> 00:30:40,060 So I think our veterans are holding stories 597 00:30:40,060 --> 00:30:42,520 close to their hearts that are very important to them 598 00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:48,740 and could be very helpful in congregations to be shared. 599 00:30:48,740 --> 00:30:51,800 And I also find that many of our vets, 600 00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:54,470 when the time comes for memorial service, 601 00:30:54,470 --> 00:30:58,810 really want their service as part of their eulogy 602 00:30:58,810 --> 00:31:02,030 as part of the ways in which they are remembered. 603 00:31:02,030 --> 00:31:03,800 And that's an important thing for families 604 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:08,490 as well, to make sure that we're careful about how we do that 605 00:31:08,490 --> 00:31:12,630 with memorial services if the veteran wants that to be 606 00:31:12,630 --> 00:31:13,680 part of their service. 607 00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:18,360 So those are some of who is served by military ministry. 608 00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:25,800 And who else is served by military ministry? 609 00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:28,870 There are families. 610 00:31:28,870 --> 00:31:32,770 There are families of people who are deployed who need support, 611 00:31:32,770 --> 00:31:34,950 sometimes practical support. 612 00:31:34,950 --> 00:31:39,600 There are families that move around from place to place 613 00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:42,220 and need to find a place where it's 614 00:31:42,220 --> 00:31:46,550 normalized to be a military family that's moving around. 615 00:31:46,550 --> 00:31:50,000 So that if we have a congregation where 616 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:55,100 it's OK for kids to come in for a period of time, and then 617 00:31:55,100 --> 00:31:56,220 need to move. 618 00:31:56,220 --> 00:31:59,250 Where our children and youth can come 619 00:31:59,250 --> 00:32:06,570 to the joys and sorrows parts of their meetings or their classes 620 00:32:06,570 --> 00:32:09,840 and can share their anxieties. 621 00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:14,380 Where the cousin of somebody who is deployed in Afghanistan 622 00:32:14,380 --> 00:32:18,120 can bring that to really the place where children 623 00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:21,220 get their primary pastoral care, which is in their RE classes, 624 00:32:21,220 --> 00:32:23,390 can bring that there. 625 00:32:23,390 --> 00:32:26,360 We need to-- I know that we at one time 626 00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:30,300 we had a young adult who was in basic training, 627 00:32:30,300 --> 00:32:32,490 and the kids all made Valentines. 628 00:32:32,490 --> 00:32:34,640 We sent this package of Valentines, 629 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:35,975 which was really important. 630 00:32:35,975 --> 00:32:37,580 And he shared them around. 631 00:32:37,580 --> 00:32:40,080 Apparently it was with the best thing we could have done 632 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:43,400 was the heart-shaped doilies and all of that 633 00:32:43,400 --> 00:32:44,740 the Valentine messages. 634 00:32:44,740 --> 00:32:47,570 And sometimes we take greeting cards 635 00:32:47,570 --> 00:32:51,100 for family members of people in the congregation who 636 00:32:51,100 --> 00:32:53,800 were deployed and invite lots of members of the congregation 637 00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:55,710 to sign them and send them off. 638 00:32:55,710 --> 00:32:58,030 So really simple things. 639 00:32:58,030 --> 00:33:00,480 But I think families can feel supported 640 00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:05,910 by normalizing military service as part of the human experience 641 00:33:05,910 --> 00:33:07,660 that our families experience. 642 00:33:07,660 --> 00:33:12,070 So and Bob, you wanted to say something, too, I think. 643 00:33:12,070 --> 00:33:14,300 Robert Lavallee: I totally agree. 644 00:33:14,300 --> 00:33:17,150 The care package thing, frankly, is a little overrated. 645 00:33:17,150 --> 00:33:20,210 Because unless you're really at a remote post 646 00:33:20,210 --> 00:33:23,090 when you're deployed, usually you can get whatever you need. 647 00:33:23,090 --> 00:33:27,290 But the thought really counts when having card 648 00:33:27,290 --> 00:33:30,210 is just as powerful and a lot easier to do. 649 00:33:30,210 --> 00:33:32,240 So I strongly recommend it. 650 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:34,560 And the folks who are receiving cards 651 00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:37,097 while they're deployed from your congregation, 652 00:33:37,097 --> 00:33:39,680 they're the ones who are going to have no problem walking back 653 00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:41,600 in the door when they come back. 654 00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:45,890 So you're laying the groundwork for that meeting well ahead 655 00:33:45,890 --> 00:33:48,410 of time. 656 00:33:48,410 --> 00:33:51,340 Gail Forsyth-vail: Thank you. 657 00:33:51,340 --> 00:33:54,710 I wanted to call-- we both want to actually call your attention 658 00:33:54,710 --> 00:33:57,010 to the "Creating Peace" Statement of Conscience, which 659 00:33:57,010 --> 00:34:00,090 was passed by our 2011 General Assembly 660 00:34:00,090 --> 00:34:04,900 after a four-year process of congregational reflection. 661 00:34:04,900 --> 00:34:06,920 And it's a pretty long document. 662 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:09,550 You can actually find it on UUA.org, 663 00:34:09,550 --> 00:34:12,670 if you just look up "Creating Peace" Statement of Conscience. 664 00:34:12,670 --> 00:34:14,270 But I want to call your attention 665 00:34:14,270 --> 00:34:17,370 to one clause in this statement that 666 00:34:17,370 --> 00:34:19,120 was passed by the General Assembly 667 00:34:19,120 --> 00:34:22,020 after a great deal of thinking. 668 00:34:22,020 --> 00:34:24,000 For Unitarian Universalists, the exercise 669 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:26,400 of individual conscience is holy work. 670 00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:27,949 Conscientious discernment leads us 671 00:34:27,949 --> 00:34:30,290 to engage in the creation of peace in different ways. 672 00:34:30,290 --> 00:34:32,840 The creation of peace in different ways. 673 00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:35,080 We affirm a range of individual choices, 674 00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:38,090 including military service and conscientious objection, 675 00:34:38,090 --> 00:34:40,239 whether to all wars or particular wars, 676 00:34:40,239 --> 00:34:43,550 as fully compatible with Unitarian Universalism. 677 00:34:43,550 --> 00:34:45,610 For those among us who make a formal commitment 678 00:34:45,610 --> 00:34:48,340 to military service, we will honor their commitment, 679 00:34:48,340 --> 00:34:51,650 welcome them home, and offer pastoral support. 680 00:34:51,650 --> 00:34:54,562 And I actually want to call attention to that clause 681 00:34:54,562 --> 00:34:56,520 because this is passed by the General Assembly. 682 00:34:56,520 --> 00:34:59,019 It's a Statement of Conscience of the Unitarian Universalist 683 00:34:59,019 --> 00:35:04,580 Association, which I believe is pretty clear in calling us 684 00:35:04,580 --> 00:35:06,200 to military ministry. 685 00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:08,180 For those among us who make a formal commitment 686 00:35:08,180 --> 00:35:10,630 to military service, we will honor their commitment, 687 00:35:10,630 --> 00:35:14,270 welcome them home, and offer pastoral support. 688 00:35:14,270 --> 00:35:15,870 So there is. 689 00:35:15,870 --> 00:35:18,820 This is not, I don't think, a side issue. 690 00:35:18,820 --> 00:35:24,580 I think it really is part of our commitment that we make. 691 00:35:24,580 --> 00:35:26,490 Robert Lavallee: It's wonderfully nuanced 692 00:35:26,490 --> 00:35:27,444 and balanced, too. 693 00:35:27,444 --> 00:35:29,110 I think this is a really important thing 694 00:35:29,110 --> 00:35:32,100 to have as a core UUA document. 695 00:35:32,100 --> 00:35:34,540 The fact that the General Assembly took the time 696 00:35:34,540 --> 00:35:41,559 and voted on it, I think, is really significant. 697 00:35:41,559 --> 00:35:43,350 Gail Forsyth-vail: So I'm going to give you 698 00:35:43,350 --> 00:35:46,300 a little bit of a guided tour of the Military Ministry Toolkit. 699 00:35:46,300 --> 00:35:49,680 What it is that's online and available to you. 700 00:35:49,680 --> 00:35:53,630 And I will tell you that the Military Ministry Toolkit 701 00:35:53,630 --> 00:35:55,870 invites people into an intentional process 702 00:35:55,870 --> 00:35:59,432 to answer these, among other questions. 703 00:35:59,432 --> 00:36:00,890 But these are some of the questions 704 00:36:00,890 --> 00:36:05,670 that you are working with if you engage in thinking 705 00:36:05,670 --> 00:36:07,170 about military ministry. 706 00:36:07,170 --> 00:36:09,040 How do we support families who have someone 707 00:36:09,040 --> 00:36:10,960 serving in the military? 708 00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:13,290 How can we be welcoming to military personnel who 709 00:36:13,290 --> 00:36:16,220 are discovering Unitarian Universalism? 710 00:36:16,220 --> 00:36:19,060 How can we invite the stories of veterans and their families 711 00:36:19,060 --> 00:36:21,080 into congregational life? 712 00:36:21,080 --> 00:36:23,760 And how can we hold honest, faithful conversations 713 00:36:23,760 --> 00:36:26,890 about war and peace that make room for multiple perspectives, 714 00:36:26,890 --> 00:36:28,740 experiences, and truth? 715 00:36:28,740 --> 00:36:31,080 So those are the guiding questions of the Military 716 00:36:31,080 --> 00:36:33,080 Ministry Toolkit. 717 00:36:33,080 --> 00:36:36,390 And what it is, here it is, this what it looks like online. 718 00:36:36,390 --> 00:36:39,200 So if you go to UUA.org, and I think 719 00:36:39,200 --> 00:36:41,700 Susan just put the link in. 720 00:36:41,700 --> 00:36:45,070 But you can also type military in the search box, 721 00:36:45,070 --> 00:36:46,280 and it'll get you here. 722 00:36:46,280 --> 00:36:47,610 It has three parts. 723 00:36:47,610 --> 00:36:50,040 There's a program that has six workshops, 724 00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:51,970 and I'll talk with you about that a little bit 725 00:36:51,970 --> 00:36:53,110 in just a minute. 726 00:36:53,110 --> 00:36:54,500 They're one hour apiece. 727 00:36:54,500 --> 00:36:56,390 The idea being that it's actually-- 728 00:36:56,390 --> 00:37:00,820 that's a reasonable-- oh my gosh, somebody's not seeing it. 729 00:37:00,820 --> 00:37:04,950 It's a screenshot, so it's a photo of the page. 730 00:37:04,950 --> 00:37:07,107 So if you go to the military ministry on UUA.org. 731 00:37:07,107 --> 00:37:09,440 You'll be able to look at this, but what I have in there 732 00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:12,750 is actually a photo of that page. 733 00:37:12,750 --> 00:37:15,640 There are six workshops. 734 00:37:15,640 --> 00:37:20,010 And then there's some recommended reading. 735 00:37:20,010 --> 00:37:25,300 And then there is the video, the 23-minute video 736 00:37:25,300 --> 00:37:28,170 that is all on that page. 737 00:37:28,170 --> 00:37:30,170 Here are what the workshops are. 738 00:37:30,170 --> 00:37:33,092 And again, this is a screenshot of what's online. 739 00:37:33,092 --> 00:37:35,050 So if you're having trouble seeing photographs, 740 00:37:35,050 --> 00:37:36,340 you might not be seeing this. 741 00:37:36,340 --> 00:37:38,880 But I will tell you that the first four 742 00:37:38,880 --> 00:37:41,570 workshops invite some deep conversation, four 743 00:37:41,570 --> 00:37:43,870 one-hour workshops. 744 00:37:43,870 --> 00:37:46,020 You investigate the messages that you've 745 00:37:46,020 --> 00:37:49,145 received about military service over time, in your family 746 00:37:49,145 --> 00:37:52,980 and in the community where you live. 747 00:37:52,980 --> 00:37:55,710 The workshop 2 asks you to take a really good look 748 00:37:55,710 --> 00:37:58,140 at your congregation's approach to military service. 749 00:37:58,140 --> 00:38:01,380 How is it talked about? 750 00:38:01,380 --> 00:38:04,010 Some really good scenarios that people 751 00:38:04,010 --> 00:38:05,360 can kind of wrestle with. 752 00:38:05,360 --> 00:38:07,990 How is your congregation talking about military service, 753 00:38:07,990 --> 00:38:10,220 or not talking about it? 754 00:38:10,220 --> 00:38:13,180 Workshop 3 is philosophical and ethical questions 755 00:38:13,180 --> 00:38:14,080 about war and peace. 756 00:38:14,080 --> 00:38:16,690 And it's deliberately the third one 757 00:38:16,690 --> 00:38:18,900 because often people want to go right there. 758 00:38:18,900 --> 00:38:22,340 Let's get in our heads and talk about war and peace. 759 00:38:22,340 --> 00:38:25,650 And we are asking people to really think 760 00:38:25,650 --> 00:38:29,070 about what messages they've received, 761 00:38:29,070 --> 00:38:33,140 and what maybe the messages that are 762 00:38:33,140 --> 00:38:36,100 being sent by the congregation that they may not be aware of. 763 00:38:36,100 --> 00:38:38,641 We're asking people to surface those things before they start 764 00:38:38,641 --> 00:38:41,520 talking about philosophical and ethical questions about war 765 00:38:41,520 --> 00:38:43,180 and peace. 766 00:38:43,180 --> 00:38:45,340 Workshop 4 is about the impact of war 767 00:38:45,340 --> 00:38:47,970 and military service on families. 768 00:38:47,970 --> 00:38:50,950 Workshop 5 is actually has the group that's 769 00:38:50,950 --> 00:38:53,760 been doing the conversation. 770 00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:56,620 Plan a worship service to invite the congregation 771 00:38:56,620 --> 00:38:58,420 to engage with this issue. 772 00:38:58,420 --> 00:39:01,570 And then workshop 6 is how do we take next steps? 773 00:39:01,570 --> 00:39:07,400 What is our next step, or steps, that we're going 774 00:39:07,400 --> 00:39:09,080 to take in our congregation? 775 00:39:09,080 --> 00:39:13,220 So that's the actual set of workshops. 776 00:39:13,220 --> 00:39:15,780 Then there's the video, and it looks like this. 777 00:39:15,780 --> 00:39:19,930 And you could-- actually it's of the right length 778 00:39:19,930 --> 00:39:23,460 that you could show it even like as a-- it could 779 00:39:23,460 --> 00:39:24,890 be shown in a board meeting. 780 00:39:24,890 --> 00:39:28,790 It could be shown even framed with a worship service framed 781 00:39:28,790 --> 00:39:29,290 around. 782 00:39:29,290 --> 00:39:31,880 It could be shown as a sermon. 783 00:39:31,880 --> 00:39:33,180 It's about that right length. 784 00:39:33,180 --> 00:39:37,030 So there's a possibility for you. 785 00:39:37,030 --> 00:39:38,750 And then there's some recommended reading 786 00:39:38,750 --> 00:39:41,810 including Bless All Who Serve, that Bob has talked about. 787 00:39:41,810 --> 00:39:47,770 War Zone Faith, which is some reflections from a UU chaplain 788 00:39:47,770 --> 00:39:49,010 in Afghanistan. 789 00:39:49,010 --> 00:39:51,480 And Soul Repair, which is about moral injury. 790 00:39:51,480 --> 00:39:53,610 And Bob's talked about moral injury. 791 00:39:53,610 --> 00:39:55,310 And actually, I think you wanted to talk 792 00:39:55,310 --> 00:39:58,860 a little bit about Ed Tick's work on moral injury as well. 793 00:39:58,860 --> 00:40:03,060 And our chaplain, Chris Antal. 794 00:40:03,060 --> 00:40:05,730 Robert Lavallee: Yeah, I'm a big fan of the organization called 795 00:40:05,730 --> 00:40:08,860 Soldier's Heart, which was founded 796 00:40:08,860 --> 00:40:12,014 by a gentleman named Ed Tick. 797 00:40:12,014 --> 00:40:14,180 He's a psychologist who's been working with veterans 798 00:40:14,180 --> 00:40:15,970 since the Vietnam era. 799 00:40:15,970 --> 00:40:18,910 And now, actually, Rev. Chris Antal, 800 00:40:18,910 --> 00:40:23,865 who is a reservist, Army reservist, Captain in the Army, 801 00:40:23,865 --> 00:40:26,310 and chaplain, is working with him as well. 802 00:40:26,310 --> 00:40:30,100 And they're doing really great work around moral injury. 803 00:40:30,100 --> 00:40:32,480 And they were actually, they were working at the VA 804 00:40:32,480 --> 00:40:34,230 where I was at, too. 805 00:40:34,230 --> 00:40:36,770 And also, Ed Tick has a brand new book out 806 00:40:36,770 --> 00:40:40,150 called Warriors Return, which I highly recommend. 807 00:40:40,150 --> 00:40:42,922 Highly recommend if you're thinking about this work. 808 00:40:42,922 --> 00:40:45,380 And thank you, whoever put up the link for Soldier's Heart. 809 00:40:45,380 --> 00:40:46,490 Was that you, Susan? 810 00:40:46,490 --> 00:40:48,650 Thanks very much. 811 00:40:48,650 --> 00:40:49,730 Great organization. 812 00:40:49,730 --> 00:40:52,200 And they can also help you with anything you want 813 00:40:52,200 --> 00:40:55,960 to do with your congregation. 814 00:40:55,960 --> 00:40:57,460 Gail Forsyth-vail: And now I'm going 815 00:40:57,460 --> 00:41:00,310 to ask you to keep going here, Bob, 816 00:41:00,310 --> 00:41:02,700 and talk about what the Church of the Larger Fellowship-- 817 00:41:02,700 --> 00:41:05,950 which is, as I said, it's the largest 818 00:41:05,950 --> 00:41:08,320 congregation of the UUA. 819 00:41:08,320 --> 00:41:13,140 So tell us what CLF is, and tell us about the military ministry. 820 00:41:13,140 --> 00:41:15,020 Robert Lavallee: We have 3,500 members. 821 00:41:15,020 --> 00:41:17,470 We are a church without walls. 822 00:41:17,470 --> 00:41:21,330 And we use every medium possible to connect to people. 823 00:41:21,330 --> 00:41:23,886 So it will surprise to you to hear 824 00:41:23,886 --> 00:41:27,970 that we have over 600 members who are incarcerated. 825 00:41:27,970 --> 00:41:30,720 Which is quite an unusual demographic 826 00:41:30,720 --> 00:41:33,340 for most of our churches. 827 00:41:33,340 --> 00:41:35,190 But we do face-to-face meetings with them. 828 00:41:35,190 --> 00:41:37,570 We do letter writing campaigns. 829 00:41:37,570 --> 00:41:41,280 And then more generally, we do online worship. 830 00:41:41,280 --> 00:41:43,170 We do pastoral care. 831 00:41:43,170 --> 00:41:46,340 We have Facebook groups for grieving and for other kinds 832 00:41:46,340 --> 00:41:51,790 of small group interests. 833 00:41:51,790 --> 00:41:55,150 And we help to foster small group work in other settings, 834 00:41:55,150 --> 00:41:56,060 too. 835 00:41:56,060 --> 00:41:59,890 Specifically for our military ministry, one thing 836 00:41:59,890 --> 00:42:03,100 we encourage people to do, when families are separated 837 00:42:03,100 --> 00:42:09,430 by deployment, because we do worship online, 838 00:42:09,430 --> 00:42:12,790 and we do it twice at different times, 839 00:42:12,790 --> 00:42:15,380 families can get together and watch together 840 00:42:15,380 --> 00:42:17,441 even though they're on different continents 841 00:42:17,441 --> 00:42:18,940 and participate in worship together. 842 00:42:18,940 --> 00:42:20,640 That's really kind of a lovely thing. 843 00:42:20,640 --> 00:42:26,460 You can still go to church with your kids at the CLF. 844 00:42:26,460 --> 00:42:29,150 We encourage the Bless All Who Serve. 845 00:42:29,150 --> 00:42:31,660 We can try to get these passed out to as many VA hospitals 846 00:42:31,660 --> 00:42:33,740 as we can. 847 00:42:33,740 --> 00:42:36,430 As I said, we provide specific pastoral care 848 00:42:36,430 --> 00:42:38,200 for military ministry for folks who 849 00:42:38,200 --> 00:42:42,280 are encountering the unique challenges of being abroad, 850 00:42:42,280 --> 00:42:43,760 being in war zones. 851 00:42:43,760 --> 00:42:44,760 We have blogs. 852 00:42:44,760 --> 00:42:47,420 And we also-- and we're trying to do more of this-- 853 00:42:47,420 --> 00:42:51,050 but we also help folks who are deployed 854 00:42:51,050 --> 00:42:55,080 develop small group worship or covenant groups 855 00:42:55,080 --> 00:42:59,660 among UUs on their bases to help foster a sense of community 856 00:42:59,660 --> 00:43:04,017 and keep that Unitarian Universalist identity. 857 00:43:04,017 --> 00:43:05,600 That's just a few of the things we do. 858 00:43:05,600 --> 00:43:07,275 I'll stop there though. 859 00:43:07,275 --> 00:43:08,900 Gail Forsyth-vail: Well, I think what's 860 00:43:08,900 --> 00:43:10,774 really interesting is when a nice partnership 861 00:43:10,774 --> 00:43:16,700 it is because the UUA is looking to have congregations become 862 00:43:16,700 --> 00:43:18,680 more skillful in their military ministry. 863 00:43:18,680 --> 00:43:21,650 And CLF is really doing a lot of work 864 00:43:21,650 --> 00:43:26,810 with active duty personnel and their families, 865 00:43:26,810 --> 00:43:30,200 and reservists, and whatnot. 866 00:43:30,200 --> 00:43:32,980 So it's a nice kind of partnership, I think, 867 00:43:32,980 --> 00:43:36,190 between the two groups. 868 00:43:36,190 --> 00:43:37,510 So thank you. 869 00:43:37,510 --> 00:43:42,260 And we're going to actually open it to any questions 870 00:43:42,260 --> 00:43:44,370 that you might have for a little bit. 871 00:43:44,370 --> 00:43:49,120 And then we do have a closing piece. 872 00:43:49,120 --> 00:43:52,465 So if you have a question, there's 873 00:43:52,465 --> 00:43:53,590 a couple things you can do. 874 00:43:53,590 --> 00:43:56,030 You can type it in the chat box, and then I 875 00:43:56,030 --> 00:43:58,150 can call on you to speak it. 876 00:43:58,150 --> 00:44:00,560 Or you can raise your red flag and tell me 877 00:44:00,560 --> 00:44:04,030 that you have a question, a comment. 878 00:44:04,030 --> 00:44:04,650 Either way. 879 00:44:04,650 --> 00:44:06,710 So raise your flag or type in the chat box. 880 00:44:06,710 --> 00:44:16,910 Now's the time for any questions that you might have. 881 00:44:16,910 --> 00:44:19,435 Robert Lavallee: Don't be shy. 882 00:44:19,435 --> 00:44:22,060 Gail Forsyth-vail: And you know it always takes people a minute 883 00:44:22,060 --> 00:44:48,800 to kind of think about their questions. 884 00:44:48,800 --> 00:44:52,090 OK. 885 00:44:52,090 --> 00:44:55,770 So there's a couple of comments. 886 00:44:55,770 --> 00:44:59,400 Some people don't have any questions. 887 00:44:59,400 --> 00:45:01,370 And yes says raise your flag if you 888 00:45:01,370 --> 00:45:02,870 had to register for military service 889 00:45:02,870 --> 00:45:05,040 before being allowed to exercise your right to vote. 890 00:45:05,040 --> 00:45:07,810 That's really interesting. 891 00:45:07,810 --> 00:45:11,570 Yes, I think registration-- yes. 892 00:45:11,570 --> 00:45:13,420 Interesting. 893 00:45:13,420 --> 00:45:15,010 Susan says she'd be interested to hear 894 00:45:15,010 --> 00:45:16,551 about any military ministry now going 895 00:45:16,551 --> 00:45:18,980 on existing UU congregations. 896 00:45:18,980 --> 00:45:22,540 I know that Evanston, Illinois, is working really hard. 897 00:45:22,540 --> 00:45:24,670 And I think there's been some things going on 898 00:45:24,670 --> 00:45:29,610 in Florida and Michigan. 899 00:45:29,610 --> 00:45:34,380 Often the congregations that are nearest to bases 900 00:45:34,380 --> 00:45:36,920 are the ones that are most active. 901 00:45:36,920 --> 00:45:39,110 San Diego has done some work. 902 00:45:39,110 --> 00:45:44,720 Although the two veterans, or veteran and active duty person 903 00:45:44,720 --> 00:45:50,130 whose videos I played were both participating in congregations 904 00:45:50,130 --> 00:45:53,780 that didn't necessarily have a quote 905 00:45:53,780 --> 00:45:55,360 unquote "military ministry." 906 00:45:55,360 --> 00:45:57,545 So Bob, what do you know about congregations 907 00:45:57,545 --> 00:46:01,716 that are doing some work? 908 00:46:01,716 --> 00:46:03,340 Robert Lavallee: There's a little bit-- 909 00:46:03,340 --> 00:46:07,650 I know Soldier's Heart is doing this across dominations, not 910 00:46:07,650 --> 00:46:13,576 just for UUs, where they're training civilians to start 911 00:46:13,576 --> 00:46:14,700 to engage in conversations. 912 00:46:14,700 --> 00:46:18,410 Much like the Military Bridge Builder Toolkit does for you. 913 00:46:18,410 --> 00:46:20,220 And so I know that's actively happening, 914 00:46:20,220 --> 00:46:25,050 but I don't know how far any specific congregations are 915 00:46:25,050 --> 00:46:27,200 going with this. 916 00:46:27,200 --> 00:46:29,990 I wish I had a better answer for you. 917 00:46:29,990 --> 00:46:31,760 Gail Forsyth-vail: So Lise, you have 918 00:46:31,760 --> 00:46:34,180 a little bit of a story about the show and tell. 919 00:46:34,180 --> 00:46:36,430 And do you want to just share it with people out loud? 920 00:46:36,430 --> 00:46:43,010 I'm just going to unmute you. 921 00:46:43,010 --> 00:46:46,490 Lise: I recently found in one of our church closets 922 00:46:46,490 --> 00:46:49,570 those signs that have the names of people 923 00:46:49,570 --> 00:46:52,660 who have served in wars. 924 00:46:52,660 --> 00:46:54,360 And I brought them out. 925 00:46:54,360 --> 00:46:57,140 And a couple members said, hey, we should hang those up. 926 00:46:57,140 --> 00:47:01,470 And I know that in my family's United Methodist Church, 927 00:47:01,470 --> 00:47:05,090 there's a plaque honoring those who served. 928 00:47:05,090 --> 00:47:07,510 That is not something I see very often, if at all, 929 00:47:07,510 --> 00:47:08,450 in UU churches. 930 00:47:08,450 --> 00:47:13,800 And I'm wondering if you're aware of anything like that. 931 00:47:13,800 --> 00:47:17,770 Gail Forsyth-vail: I think a lot of the-- I live in New England, 932 00:47:17,770 --> 00:47:21,950 and I think a fair number of the New England congregations 933 00:47:21,950 --> 00:47:24,280 have them. 934 00:47:24,280 --> 00:47:28,112 But I don't know about elsewhere in the country. 935 00:47:28,112 --> 00:47:30,070 Robert Lavallee: There's just such ambivalence. 936 00:47:30,070 --> 00:47:32,070 I know it's really hard for congregations 937 00:47:32,070 --> 00:47:39,510 because I think folks sometimes feel manipulated by the support 938 00:47:39,510 --> 00:47:45,660 our troops kind of language. 939 00:47:45,660 --> 00:47:51,490 As if it implies we also have to support the policies. 940 00:47:51,490 --> 00:47:53,990 That's a cynical view, I think. 941 00:47:53,990 --> 00:47:59,710 Which is why the Military Bridge Builder, those conversations-- 942 00:47:59,710 --> 00:48:02,640 which by the way, the great thing about the toolkit-- 943 00:48:02,640 --> 00:48:05,530 I was part of the pilot program that happened for that-- is 944 00:48:05,530 --> 00:48:08,410 that a civilian, people with no experience in the military 945 00:48:08,410 --> 00:48:10,910 at all can facilitate these conversations just 946 00:48:10,910 --> 00:48:12,930 as well as a veteran does. 947 00:48:12,930 --> 00:48:16,990 So there's no special requirements, just 948 00:48:16,990 --> 00:48:20,970 facilitation skills, which I think are universal. 949 00:48:20,970 --> 00:48:25,490 So I do remember Chris Antal telling me 950 00:48:25,490 --> 00:48:30,010 a great story about being asked to go to a church that's 951 00:48:30,010 --> 00:48:33,410 a different denomination that had just installed 952 00:48:33,410 --> 00:48:37,112 a stained glass window that had all the service seals-- you 953 00:48:37,112 --> 00:48:38,570 know each branch of the service has 954 00:48:38,570 --> 00:48:41,180 its own unique seal-- and all the seals 955 00:48:41,180 --> 00:48:44,610 actually in the stained glass, and how uncomfortable 956 00:48:44,610 --> 00:48:48,010 it made him, how uncomfortable it 957 00:48:48,010 --> 00:48:51,115 made him feel about this idea of an official endorsement 958 00:48:51,115 --> 00:48:53,510 of the military by the church. 959 00:48:53,510 --> 00:48:55,860 Rather than the church being a place apart. 960 00:48:55,860 --> 00:48:57,860 So there's a lot of interesting things 961 00:48:57,860 --> 00:49:00,075 to talk about when we talk about what 962 00:49:00,075 --> 00:49:03,700 do we put in our public spaces, our common spaces 963 00:49:03,700 --> 00:49:07,610 in the church. 964 00:49:07,610 --> 00:49:08,610 Gail Forsyth-vail: Yes. 965 00:49:08,610 --> 00:49:11,760 has a question about the changing of the name. 966 00:49:11,760 --> 00:49:13,322 It was called Bridge Builders when 967 00:49:13,322 --> 00:49:15,530 it was the Church of the Larger Fellowship's program. 968 00:49:15,530 --> 00:49:19,510 And we've changed the name to Military Ministry Toolkit 969 00:49:19,510 --> 00:49:22,990 for a couple reasons, the most important of which 970 00:49:22,990 --> 00:49:28,620 is that it was causing some confusion with Bridging, which 971 00:49:28,620 --> 00:49:33,970 is the young adult ceremony that happens in many congregations. 972 00:49:33,970 --> 00:49:37,760 And we wanted this to be easily searchable and findable 973 00:49:37,760 --> 00:49:41,240 and not to get lost in a title confusion. 974 00:49:41,240 --> 00:49:45,760 Which is why it's the Military Ministry Toolkit on UUA. 975 00:49:45,760 --> 00:49:48,800 But the original-- Seanan was the original author, 976 00:49:48,800 --> 00:49:55,010 and we worked with Seanan Holland's material. 977 00:49:55,010 --> 00:50:00,390 And just made it accessible to congregations. 978 00:50:00,390 --> 00:50:02,660 So that's why the name got changed. 979 00:50:02,660 --> 00:50:05,390 Although CLF people always call it Bridge Builders and-- 980 00:50:05,390 --> 00:50:06,360 Robert Lavallee: Sorry! 981 00:50:06,360 --> 00:50:08,200 Gail Forsyth-vail: We do a little bit of translating here, 982 00:50:08,200 --> 00:50:08,890 there, and everywhere. 983 00:50:08,890 --> 00:50:10,320 But that was the reason for it. 984 00:50:10,320 --> 00:50:12,236 Robert Lavallee: I need to update my language. 985 00:50:12,236 --> 00:50:12,970 I'm sorry, Gail. 986 00:50:12,970 --> 00:50:14,761 Gail Forsyth-vail: Oh no, that's all right. 987 00:50:14,761 --> 00:50:15,740 Meg did the same thing. 988 00:50:15,740 --> 00:50:20,990 Meg Riley, who is the minister. 989 00:50:20,990 --> 00:50:25,180 Are there are other questions? 990 00:50:25,180 --> 00:50:29,840 Because we have a closing video that's a couple minutes long. 991 00:50:29,840 --> 00:50:32,930 And if you're having trouble seeing the video, 992 00:50:32,930 --> 00:50:35,260 I really think it's important to see it, 993 00:50:35,260 --> 00:50:38,990 and you might want to go actually to the Military 994 00:50:38,990 --> 00:50:40,680 Ministry Toolkit video. 995 00:50:40,680 --> 00:50:46,470 It's the last and starts at 19:30, 19 minutes 996 00:50:46,470 --> 00:50:48,030 and 30 seconds on the video. 997 00:50:48,030 --> 00:50:51,910 This is Seanan Holland talking about why 998 00:50:51,910 --> 00:50:53,880 it's really important to hear the voices 999 00:50:53,880 --> 00:50:56,450 of our military folks. 1000 00:50:56,450 --> 00:51:01,380 And so I urge you to listen here if you can, 1001 00:51:01,380 --> 00:51:05,950 and if you can't, you can go right to the video 1002 00:51:05,950 --> 00:51:08,380 on the Military Ministry Toolkit on UUA.org 1003 00:51:08,380 --> 00:51:10,740 and here again, beginning at 19:30. 1004 00:51:10,740 --> 00:51:17,878 So you'll hear-- I'm going to go get it open-- 1005 00:51:17,878 --> 00:51:23,760 you can hear the last of what Kimberly Paquette says, 1006 00:51:23,760 --> 00:51:31,764 and then it'll go right into-- 1007 00:51:31,764 --> 00:51:34,180 Kimberly Paquette: --a beloved member of the congregation, 1008 00:51:34,180 --> 00:51:36,260 and her high school age son was considering 1009 00:51:36,260 --> 00:51:38,140 joining the Marines. 1010 00:51:38,140 --> 00:51:40,280 She did not know what to do. 1011 00:51:40,280 --> 00:51:42,390 She was certain that, as a peace-loving people, 1012 00:51:42,390 --> 00:51:45,030 her congregation, our congregation, 1013 00:51:45,030 --> 00:51:49,780 would not understand or support her or her son. 1014 00:51:49,780 --> 00:51:52,050 We need to do better than that. 1015 00:51:52,050 --> 00:51:55,180 Our congregations must be open to our members, their families, 1016 00:51:55,180 --> 00:51:58,140 and friends who choose to serve in the military. 1017 00:51:58,140 --> 00:52:01,590 Our military needs deep change, and we are best 1018 00:52:01,590 --> 00:52:03,410 prepared to do that change when it's 1019 00:52:03,410 --> 00:52:06,530 inundated with people, our people, who 1020 00:52:06,530 --> 00:52:11,090 work for peace, justice, are tolerant, and respectful. 1021 00:52:11,090 --> 00:52:12,590 Seanan Holland: Within our tradition 1022 00:52:12,590 --> 00:52:18,680 of Unitarian Universalism, we have made noble progress 1023 00:52:18,680 --> 00:52:26,240 in making space for veterans and their loved ones. 1024 00:52:26,240 --> 00:52:29,950 And we know that many of our veterans 1025 00:52:29,950 --> 00:52:33,890 are still, and just now, finding ways 1026 00:52:33,890 --> 00:52:39,490 to share their stories in their congregations that 1027 00:52:39,490 --> 00:52:42,950 are, themselves, only now becoming 1028 00:52:42,950 --> 00:52:48,110 ready to hold such stories. 1029 00:52:48,110 --> 00:52:52,860 We must continue this healing and coming together 1030 00:52:52,860 --> 00:52:59,160 because our time calls on us, on the one hand, 1031 00:52:59,160 --> 00:53:05,380 to redeem a piece of our past as an association. 1032 00:53:05,380 --> 00:53:09,200 And on the other, to be a redemptive 1033 00:53:09,200 --> 00:53:13,640 force in nothing short of seeking 1034 00:53:13,640 --> 00:53:18,890 a cure to the ailment of war. 1035 00:53:18,890 --> 00:53:25,720 And it is this second task that looms even larger. 1036 00:53:25,720 --> 00:53:28,260 Even more so than the first task, 1037 00:53:28,260 --> 00:53:31,890 it will require us to work together 1038 00:53:31,890 --> 00:53:39,010 and to build bridges between veterans and non-veterans. 1039 00:53:39,010 --> 00:53:45,340 As we work together, may the songs we sing, the prayers we 1040 00:53:45,340 --> 00:53:49,780 lift up, and the litanies we recite to bind ourselves 1041 00:53:49,780 --> 00:53:55,700 in purposeful covenant, may they reach beyond ourselves 1042 00:53:55,700 --> 00:53:58,410 and our neighborhoods. 1043 00:53:58,410 --> 00:54:03,050 May they reach beyond the bounds of relative comfort 1044 00:54:03,050 --> 00:54:06,840 and security. 1045 00:54:06,840 --> 00:54:12,530 May they reach out into the distant chaos and confusion 1046 00:54:12,530 --> 00:54:18,390 of conflict to steal the hearts and minds of young servicemen 1047 00:54:18,390 --> 00:54:22,280 and women that they might survive 1048 00:54:22,280 --> 00:54:28,110 in their witness of the sorest of humanity's dysfunctions. 1049 00:54:28,110 --> 00:54:32,259 We need their stories. 1050 00:54:32,259 --> 00:54:36,490 We need the shutter of distant artillery 1051 00:54:36,490 --> 00:54:43,680 to speak to us through the wincing of the web of life. 1052 00:54:43,680 --> 00:54:49,950 We need the images and sounds to become just real enough 1053 00:54:49,950 --> 00:54:54,260 to move us. 1054 00:54:54,260 --> 00:54:58,910 We need to allow ourselves to be changed 1055 00:54:58,910 --> 00:55:03,140 by the stories of our warriors and all 1056 00:55:03,140 --> 00:55:09,610 who are affected by war. 1057 00:55:09,610 --> 00:55:15,760 Gail Forsyth-vail: Thank you. 1058 00:55:15,760 --> 00:55:17,819 So I think, thanks everybody. 1059 00:55:17,819 --> 00:55:19,610 And at this point I'm going to turn it over 1060 00:55:19,610 --> 00:55:25,390 to Susan to talk to us about upcoming webinars 1061 00:55:25,390 --> 00:55:28,807 in this series. 1062 00:55:28,807 --> 00:55:30,890 Susan Lawrence: Thanks, Gail, and thanks everybody 1063 00:55:30,890 --> 00:55:33,610 for joining us today. 1064 00:55:33,610 --> 00:55:36,340 We have the topic of professional development 1065 00:55:36,340 --> 00:55:40,430 for religious educators coming in December. 1066 00:55:40,430 --> 00:55:44,300 And the dates are a Tuesday midday and Thursday evening 1067 00:55:44,300 --> 00:55:45,090 Eastern Time. 1068 00:55:45,090 --> 00:55:48,510 Just calculate three hours back if you're on the West Coast. 1069 00:55:48,510 --> 00:55:52,532 And Jan Gartner is the associate at the UUA for credentialing 1070 00:55:52,532 --> 00:55:53,490 of religious educators. 1071 00:55:53,490 --> 00:55:55,050 And she's going to talk about how 1072 00:55:55,050 --> 00:55:57,180 to think about professional development 1073 00:55:57,180 --> 00:55:59,380 and what some of the opportunities are. 1074 00:55:59,380 --> 00:56:01,530 And how to help pay for it as well. 1075 00:56:01,530 --> 00:56:04,530 And in January, we hope to do something on financial planning 1076 00:56:04,530 --> 00:56:06,619 for religious educators, which really applies 1077 00:56:06,619 --> 00:56:07,910 to all religious professionals. 1078 00:56:07,910 --> 00:56:09,720 It could be of interest to anyone 1079 00:56:09,720 --> 00:56:11,260 who is involved in working on staff 1080 00:56:11,260 --> 00:56:14,120 with a congregation or another organized 1081 00:56:14,120 --> 00:56:16,570 setting of the religion. 1082 00:56:16,570 --> 00:56:18,530 And Gail is going to talk to us about Managing 1083 00:56:18,530 --> 00:56:20,550 Easter in February. 1084 00:56:20,550 --> 00:56:23,490 And in March, we're going to have the Youth and Young Adult 1085 00:56:23,490 --> 00:56:26,360 Ministry Office with us to talk about creating youth leadership 1086 00:56:26,360 --> 00:56:28,530 and how to work more multi-generationally 1087 00:56:28,530 --> 00:56:31,930 successfully in congregations to get youth engaged. 1088 00:56:31,930 --> 00:56:34,680 So the webinar we just completed, 1089 00:56:34,680 --> 00:56:38,660 and the ones to come, and about a year's worth from before are 1090 00:56:38,660 --> 00:56:41,950 all available in archive format at the website you see below, 1091 00:56:41,950 --> 00:56:49,510 which is www.uua.org/re/t eachers/webinars. 1092 00:56:49,510 --> 00:56:52,740 So please catch up with us on an archive webinar 1093 00:56:52,740 --> 00:56:54,760 or join us again. 1094 00:56:54,760 --> 00:56:56,325 And thank you for being here. 1095 00:56:56,325 --> 00:56:58,200 Gail Forsyth-vail: Thanks, everybody, and I'm 1096 00:56:58,200 --> 00:57:02,885 putting my email in the box. 1097 00:57:02,885 --> 00:57:06,590 But if you have any more questions about the resources, 1098 00:57:06,590 --> 00:57:08,930 you can get in touch with me. 1099 00:57:08,930 --> 00:57:10,930 Susan Lawrence: I'm going to stop our recording. 1100 00:57:10,930 --> 00:57:12,640 And people are welcome to stay on 1101 00:57:12,640 --> 00:57:14,860 and say goodbye some more if you like to. 1102 00:57:14,860 --> 00:57:16,710 Thanks everybody.