Restarting of face-to-face meetings at the Cambridge Unitarian Church on Sunday 23rd January and notice of the forthcoming series of Wednesday Evening Conversations starting on 26th January
Greetings to you all, The very good news is that this coming Sunday, 23rd January, we return to face-to-face meetings in the church with the service being simultaneously streamed on Zoom. Because we are still in the midst of a pandemic, we request that, for the time being, you continue to wear a mask whilst on the church premises. We also strongly encourage everyone who wishes to attend to make sure they are fully vaccinated both for their own well-being and the well-being of other church members.
The Zoom link for this is the one we have been using throughout but, for ease of reference, I paste it here:
<https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86584947084?pwd=RHdlVWIvaG5uajcxODhqT2h5djExZz09>
Meeting ID: 865 8494 7084 Password: 729425 (edited)
Full details of the service can be found at the following link:
<https://www.cambridgeunitarian.org/morning-service/>
Also to note that this coming Wednesday (26th January) we’ll be starting the new series of Wednesday Evening Conversations exploring the important Shin Buddhist text “The Tannisho.” It begins at 7.15 for 7.30pm and runs until 9pm.
At the end of last year, I began to explore this text with you because I could see that it connected powerfully with the philosophy and theology of our own Unitarian and Universalist tradition and because it speaks well to many contemporary issues facing us as a contemporary liberal religious community. Since then I’ve done a lot more research and have discovered that between 1887 and 1922 a number of intimate, direct connections were made between Shin Buddhists and Unitarians and Universalists in Japan (see, for example HERE and HERE). I’ll begin next Wednesday’s conversation by briefly introducing you to what I have discovered. It’s an interesting story . . . We’ll then move on to the main event and, just to remind you, below is the “homework” I sent out after our last meeting. To get the most from this conversation it’s worth taking the time to read these short texts. Below this, you’ll find the Zoom link and a list of future dates. I look forward to seeing some of you on Wednesday evening.
READ Chapter 1 of the Tannisho
<https://www.themathesontrust.org/papers/fareasternreligions/Tannisho-Unno.pdf>
READ Chapters 3 & 4 of Bloom’s commentary
Bloom is a really important figure in the introduction of Shin Buddhism to the West so, were you really enthused to dive much deeper into this at any point (and I fully realise that you might not!), here’s a link to a self-study course written by him and made freely available to one and all:
<https://bschawaii.org/shindharmanet/course/>
The rest of the site is also worth taking a look at should you be so minded.
Topic: Cambridge Unitarian Church Wednesday Evening ConversationTime: Jan 26, 2022 19:30 London
Every 2 weeks on Wed, until May 4, 2022, 8 occurrence(s)
Jan 26, 2022 19:00
Feb 9, 2022 19:00
Feb 23, 2022 19:00
Mar 9, 2022 19:00
Mar 23, 2022 19:00
Apr 6, 2022 19:00
Apr 20, 2022 19:00
May 4, 2022 19:00
Join Zoom Meeting
<https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81957816187?pwd=Q2FMcmlnOXQvaHVtVzhac0J5b2k3dz09>
Meeting ID: 819 5781 6187
Passcode: 066222
As most of you know we now have a church SLACK site that enables those who join it to be in touch with each other freely about church events, volunteering for the coffee and music rotas, etc., etc.. Think of it as a digital version of the church common room after the morning service.
To join the church SLACK site please be in touch with me directly.
For those interested in reading my blog and/or listening to the associated podcast please follow the links below my signature here.
Lastly please remember that if you would like to speak with me during the week simply be in touch and we can arrange a suitable time to talk properly either by telephone, Zoom, at the church or on a walk around the greens of Cambridge.
With love and best wishes as always,
Andrew
Andrew James Brown
Minister
Cambridge Unitarian Church
Emmanuel Road
Cambridge
CB1 1JW
07305 089 951 (Church Office)
07477 462 110 (Mobile)
http://www.cambridgeunitarian.org/
____________________________
Other stuff . . .
http://andrewjbrown.blogspot.com/ (Blog)
https://footprints.buzzsprout.com (Making Footprints Not Blueprints Podcast)
https://twitter.com/caute (Twitter)