Stained Glass Ceilings

Dear Friends,

It is always good to see anyone who has been disenfranchised break through. Such is the case with Laurel Hallman, the delightful minister who ascended from volunteer R.E. teacher at a Midwestern congregation to become the first woman to shatter the stained glass ceiling and become senior minister of a large Unitarian congregation—Dallas.

During the twenty years that followed, she broke through a number of other ceilings and barriers, including initiating a spiritual practice beautifully-suited to the intellectual and spiritual diversity of our religious movement. I’ve offered “Living by Heart” retreats here and at a score of other churches, but have never had the joy of actually learning the practice with Laurel herself. Now that rare privilege is ours as she joins us on March 27 for a day of meditation, contemplation, poetry, song, and study. Not to mention lunch. Please, please pre-register as soon as possible so we’ll know how many to plan for.

Speaking of the disenfranchisement of women, if at all convenient, do see the excellent film Creation now playing at the Angelica downtown, and apparently nowhere else in Houston. (A call to your local theatre might help.) This well-made biopic humanizes the often demonized Charles Darwin. (You might even take a couple of thoughtful Evangelicals with you to see it.)

But do know that, for all its strengths, the film does make Emma Wedgewood Darwin into a sort of villain, portraying her as a somber, uptight, conservative Christian who blocks the publication of The Origin of Species. Truth is, the Darwin and Wedgewood families were steeped in rebellious Unitarianism; Emma would actually make her children join her in literally turning their backs on their Anglican parish priest when too orthodox a message was being delivered. Emma was also apparently a lot more fun than the unsmiling actress who portrays her in the film; she and Charles enjoyed each other greatly, and had several more children than are portrayed in the movie. But then, since Eve and the serpent, women have made handy villains.

Eloquently crusading against such injustice for many years has been Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Ellen Goodman. She deserves our thanks and rapt attention when she speaks at a fundraiser for First Church on March 12 at the Ensemble Theatre. I love the title she has just sent us: “The Political is (too) Personal: The Media, The Scandals, and Food Fight Politics.”

Hope to see you there.

Best,
David