by Paul Pipher

Thanks to everyone at UCN for giving me the opportunity to tell my story at the Nov. 26 service.  I found your comments afterwards moving and instructive, comments where a small event changed the course of the lives of yourself or someone you knew.  

However I know that time constraints prevented some of you from telling your stories and I would encourage you to write them out and send them to David to post on this Blog.   And I would appreciate being able to include them with my story as an appropriate conclusion.

I’ve also included in this blog entry a poem called CHURCHGOING, by Philip  Larkin, that sums up my feelings exactly, but was not presented because of time constraints. also a short video representing the church service I attended during my trip to England in the Spring.

Best wishes,

Paul Pipher

CHURCH GOING                                                                Philip Larkin (abbreviated)

Once I am sure there's nothing going on
I step inside, letting the door thud shut.
Another church: matting, seats, and stone,
And little books; sprawlings of flowers, cut
For Sunday, brownish now; some brass and stuff
Up at the holy end; the small neat organ;
And a tense, musty, unignorable silence,
Brewed God knows how long. Hatless, I take off
My cycle-clips in awkward reverence,

Yet stop I did: in fact I often do,
And always end much at a loss like this,
Wondering what to look for; wondering, too,
When churches fall completely out of use
What we shall turn them into, if we shall keep
A few cathedrals chronically on show,
Their parchment, plate, and pyx in locked cases,
And let the rest rent-free to rain and sheep.
Shall we avoid them as unlucky places?

A serious house on serious earth it is,
In whose blent air all our compulsions meet,
Are recognised, and robed as destinies.
And that much never can be obsolete,
Since someone will forever be surprising
A hunger in himself to be more serious,
And gravitating with it to this ground,
Which, he once heard, was proper to grow wise in,
If only that so many dead lie round.

 The video can be viewed on YouTube.

by David Jordan

I imagined having a blog might help with our outreach to people who do not attend services/events at this time but are curious about UCN. I also think it can be another community-building outlet.

Members and friends are encouraged to submit any of the following:
-What attracts you to UCN and Unitarianism,
-Your involvement with social action groups,
-A summary of a pertinent book you’ve read recently,
-Describe an event which touched you spiritually or emotionally,
-Share a story about a recent trip that included a visit to another Unitarian
congregation.
-Your reaction to a recent pub-night, film night, or other UCN event

When a blog entry is posted, notice of that will occur on our Facebook page and the in the UCN update that Roy Blake sends out regularly. There are no word limits—minimum or maximum.

As noted in Roy’s introductory blog entry, submissions should be sent to me at [email protected]. I will review them to assure that they are pertinent and do not contradict any of our seven principles.

​I urge you to comment on having a blog. Other suggestions for blog topics are, of course, welcomed. And by all means, submit a blog entry!

by Roy Blake


UCN now has a blog! To post to it, just send an email to David Jordan at [email protected].

Posts can be on any subject but should be related in some way to the UCN or Unitarianism. All posts must respect our seven principles.