June 7, 2023

 Jun 7, 2023

“The living world is a continuum in each and every one of its aspects.” 
– Alfred Kinsey

Beloveds,

My daughter is home from school for the summer, and we’ve been discussing weirdness and difference and the not-so-useful ways that “normal” works in our culture. This is a recurring topic for us, and it’s fun catching up on it after a year of new experiences in the world away from home (for her) and a year of reading and thinking (for both of us). I am currently reading this book, which in the midst of recounting the horrors of the twentieth century’s attempts to define and enforce normality, throws out the above 80-year-old quotation from a classic scientific study of human sexuality. Good fodder for our ongoing conversation, but reading this also occasioned a moment of pure joy for me–because this statement, which has the ring of universal truth to my ears, isn’t only about one narrow field of research, but about “the living world” in which I and we live and move and have our being. We are all different in many ways, and that is the astonishingly beautiful truth of what is. Amen. Glory be.  

Repeating a couple of reminders from last week’s note:

-Your delegates to General Assembly (June 21-25) are Kristin and Nat R, attending remotely; I will be in Pittsburgh for GA. Talk to any of us if you want to know more about the important business coming up for voting, and be aware that parts of GA are open to the public without charge.

-I will be on vacation for the month of July. Before I go, I will arrange pastoral coverage for emergencies, but if there’s anything about which you would like to talk, now is a good time to reach out!

Yours in all the pride and beauty and truth we can stand, 

Rev. Denise
RevDenise@gnuuc.org