This week at BBUUC….

April 21: Sheila Harty will present “In Metaphor We Trust”

All religious beliefs are true—metaphorically; and all metaphors are false—literally. How to make the distinctions? Human understanding is inherently metaphorical. I saw the phrase “in metaphor we trust” on a bumper sticker after 9/11. I liked that its inherent theological critique was self evident. The phrase also resonates with my favorite definition of God: Joseph Campbell’s “God is a metaphor for a mystery.” The science of cognitive linguistics gives us a new analysis for understanding metaphors. They’re more than a phrase; they clump together conceptually. Christianity’s metaphors— son of God, mother of God, children of God, and God the Father—combine for a conceptual metaphor of God as “Relationship,” which functions positively for religion as community, but it’s a

false and illusory comfort. We need new metaphors for modern minds. Quantum physics offers a parallel revelation. In the film “Mindwalk,” physicist Fritjof Capra wrote that nature “appears as a complicated web of relations between the various parts of a unified whole.”

About Our April 21st Speaker:

Sheila Harty has a B.A. and M.A. in Theology. Her major was in Catholicism,  her minor in Islam, and her thesis in Scriptural Judaism; however, her definition of God more closely resembles quantum physics. For 20 years, Harty employed her theology degrees in the political arena as “applied ethics,” including 10 years with Ralph Nader. She also worked with former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey   lark and former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop. Harty is an award- winning author; her first book, Hucksters in the Classroom: A Review of Industry Propaganda in Schools, won the 1980 George Orwell Award for Honesty & Clarity in Public Language. On sabbatical from Nader, Harty taught Business Ethics at University College Cork in Ireland. Later, she was an editor with the Congressional Budget Office, the United Nations University, and the World Bank. She has spoken around the world and consulted with international consumer

groups in Geneva, The Hague, Oslo, Dublin,and Penang. She works in St. Augustine, Florida, as a freelance editor and graphics designer.

What’s Happening at Church this week?

Sunday, April 21

• 9am LRE Meeting

·        12pm OWL

Tuesday, April 23

·        7pm Board Meeting

·        7pm BBUUYA

·        7pm Steering Committee Meeting

·        8pm CUUPS

Wednesday, April 24

·        7pm BEACON

·        7pm CUUPS

Thursday, April 25

·        7pm Cakes for the Queen of Heaven

Saturday, April 27

·        8am-2pm BBUUC Rummage Sale

Please remember to bring in your filled out pledge cards.  If you have not received one and you are a member, please see Beth Christiansen for yours.  If you are not a member but wish to make a pledge, there are pledge brochures on the entrance table.  The Finance Committee would greatly appreciate timely return of the pledge cards!  Thank you.

We are looking forward to seeing you this week!