Obama Tribute to Toots

[bigtree]

President-elect Barack Obama's motorcade returns from a cliff side memorial service for his grandmother December 23 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (AFP/Tim Sloan)


HONOLULU - President-elect Barack Obama paid tribute to his grandmother, one of the central figures in his life, in a private church service Tuesday afternoon, before scattering her ashes in the Pacific.

Madelyn Dunham died at age 86 just two days before her grandson won the election. Tuesday was the first time Obama has been able to formally mourn her death, surrounded by friends and family in his home state.

He attended the hour-long service at the First Unitarian Church, a converted light-tan, two-story home, with his wife, Michelle, his daughters, Malia and Sasha, and his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng.

After the service, Obama's motorcade drove an alcove off the highway along the Pacific Ocean that some locals said was called Lanai Lookout. There, more than a dozen friends and family joined Obama, who was dressed casually and wearing sunglasses, along a rocky shoreline as he scattered his grandmother's remains.

report: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16833.html

[Hamlette]

1. Unitarian church? My gawd, he's not a Muslim, he's a commie pinko! n/t

[polichick]

2. My favorite - maybe he can invite the minister to the inauguration.

[merh]

3. confusing, isn't it

some say he is a black separatist (wright's church), others think he is too concerned about the fundies, he is muslim, he is too centrist, he is a socialist, and now the unitarian church and commie.

He will learn that you can please some of the people some of the time but not all of the people all of the time, if he hasn't figured it out already. ;)

[polichick]

4. Unitarians are TRULY inclusive though - glad to see he's familiar with them.

[Hamlette]

7. it's pretty easy to be inclusive when you don't believe in anything!

Sheesh. They accept atheists! How could they possibly turn anyone away?

Seriously, his parents were atheists and his grandparents probably were too. I was afraid the right would make that an issue but they latched onto the Muslim thing instead with no evidence what so ever. I never could figure that out.

[Hekate]

10. Hamlette, I'm sure you didn't mean to say what you said. DU has some UU ministers & UU members...

They've been around for hundreds of years, so they must believe in something. For one thing, they believe in good works, and are well-represented in my community wherever open minds and open hearts are needed. They aren't waiting for the next world; they're busy in this one.

Try this website http://www.uua.org/

And on the same site http://www.uua.org/visitors/6798.shtml -->

There are seven principles which Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote:

The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Unitarian Universalism (UU) draws from many sources:

Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.
Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

These principles and sources of faith are the backbone of our religious community.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm so pleased that Barack Obama springs from Unitarian roots.

Hekate

[polichick]

12. "I'm so pleased that Barack Obama springs from Unitarian roots."

Me too!

[Hamlette]

13. I was being flip, I meant they don't believe in god

I was raised in Utah and mom thought we needed a church. Since we're atheists she took us to the UU church. If I felt the need, and I might again some day, I would join back up in a second. My Aunt found great community there in her last years.

[Hekate]

14. I'm sorry, Ham. By the time I figured out you were being flip it was too late to change...

... and my brain was too tired to think of a suitable addendum. It's what I get for posting while half-asleep.

I raised my kids in the UU church too, and for very similar reasons. My daughter was constantly being proselytized by one group or another (fundies and Mormons both) and I knew that she above all needed an actual building to point to as "her church" -- some place and community that reinforced what her stepdad and I were trying to teach her and her brother about ethics and human responsibility.

Both my husband and I have spiritual and religious feelings, but they are unconventional and wide-ranging. The UUA was a real home for us for the kids' growing up-years. Later, we lapsed (I know, lapsed UUs. LOL). I talked my sis and her husband into giving it a try and they and their now-grown kids ended up being highly involved UUs-for-life.

I remain very respectful of the denomination, and I miss singing in the choir. But as you can guess from the times of night I post at DU, getting up early on Sunday morning -- or any morning -- is extremely hard for me.

But once again I find myself urging someone else to join -- my daughter, now that her son is four years old. She and her husband are unconventional, especially her husband. He and his friends are Jedi (:eyes: but as a mythologist I understand) -- and I think their son and any other kids they might have are going to need more than that for community...

Holiday blessings from the God of your choice!

Hekate

[polichick]

11. Unitarians aren't afraid to think for themselves...

They don't look to a big-daddy figure to tell them what to do ~ and they are often very in touch with their own spirits, something I haven't seen as much in more traditional religions where people just follow along.

Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is within you." In my experience, Unitarians know that too.

[FrenchieCat]

5. Oh...he's figured it out already,

Even if the some of the people haven't as of yet.

[stillcool]

6. sometimes I wonder if people forget....

what we're up against.

http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/index.html@sort=title_tagline.html#org
http://rightweb.irc-online.org/

[gblady]

8. It must be.....

a relief to Barack to have this service,
and his grandmother finally put to rest.

This type of service and ritual can be very healing...

My prayers are with his family.

[firedupdem]

9. Rest in Peace Toot.....saying goodbye to the ones you love is

never easy.

[malaise]

15. I wish she had lived just three more days

but I'm sure she knew he was going to win. R.I.P. Madelyn Dunham.