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There is religion in everything around us, a calm and holy religion in the unbreathing things in Nature. It is a meek and blessed influence, stealing in as it were unaware upon the heart; it comes quickly and without excitement; it has no tenor, no gloom; it does not rouse up passions; it is untrammeled by creeds...it is written on the arched sky; it looks out from every star; it is on the sailing cloud and in the invisible wind; it is among the hills and valleys of the earth where the shrubless mountain-top pierces the thin atmosphere of eternal winter; or where the mighty forest fluctuates before the strong wind with its dark waves of green foliage; it is spread out like a legible language upon the broad face of an unsleeping ocean. It is the poetry of Nature;
With thanks to The Inquirer (the Unitarian Newspaper) ~~~~~~~Nothing in this world is so powerful ~~~~~~~SUMMER 2001 - DUNDEEI have placed an advert in the Scots Magazine. I have a web-site giving full particulars about our Fellowship. I bring it to the attention of just about everyone whom I meet - at weddings, naming ceremonies etc. However, the best way of attracting new members, and thus building up our Fellowship is by personal contact. I am therefore asking you, and inviting you, to spread the word about our Fellowship to your friends, relations, neighbours and anyone else. The churches are closing down, left, right and centre with more and more people giving up on their church attendance and membership. They belong to the 19th.Century - ours belongs to the 21st! And in discussion with the many people I meet, I find great interest in our venture. Indeed, even the Church of Scotland has now followed our example by starting a 'Church without walls'! BUT, there is a deep suspicion amongst many, that this is just a means to attract people back into the 'Church with walls'! That's why the personal touch is so necessary. Only YOU can re-assure them as to the true value of our Fellowship. Will YOU tell your friends etc. about us? Will you do it? Colin ~~~~~~~William Wordsworth was very conscious that, even in his day, we are too bound up with the material values of human society to fully appreciate our place in Nature. During a recent wedding interview, the bridesmaid who accompanied the bride told me that in her work with the 'Met' every single decision had to be taken with the modern concept of 'Political Correctness' as the deciding factor! And politicians of every hue now seem to depend upon 'Spin-doctors' to present their aims. This is what William Wordsworth had to say:
~~~~~~~We now have a caravan sited up in the hills close by the Bridge of Cally in Perthshire. We can "escape" to the welcoming arms of Mother Nature whenever the pressures of modern society impinge upon us with ever increasing force. Glory Be to Mother Nature! ~~~~~~~A Hearty Welcome to our new member, Mrs S.M.Bell of Kirkcaldy. She tells me that she was christened in the Kircaldy Unitarian church - this church closed its doors in 1920! Since then she has retained her attachment to the Unitarian Faith but, due to circumstances beyond her control, she has been unable to attend any Unitarian church! She tells me that when reading the Scots Magazine her eyes lighted upon our advert. and, phoning me in response to that, she was so excited and pleased that once again she was able to recover her connection with Unitarianism! ~~~~~~~CONGRATULATIONS too, to our members John Mulhall and Karen Innes whom I had the pleasure of marrying at Ruff lets Hotel, - St Andrews on 31st.March. This was my very first marriage of members since the inception of the S.U.F. Certainly, folk I have married have since joined the S.U.F., but never before have I married existing members of our Fellowship. Good Wishes, Mr & Mrs Mulhall! ~~~~~~~Many a false step is made by standing still. Your daily life is your temple and your religion. One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea. ~~~~~~~FROM OUR CHAIRMAN . . . . . .Pause for ThoughtIs the food produced by modern agricultural natural ? As a lecturer and researcher in plant genetics, I find I am being asked this question more and more frequently. Of the 10 million years or so that Homo sapiens have been on the planet, agriculture is only a relatively recent innovation which has been with us for the last 10,000 years. Prior to that time, humans lived in small 'hunter gatherer' groups. The entire population was small and had a low impact on the world. The development of even simple materials and technology, such as axes and ploughs, enabled more land to be cultivated and settling down increased the need for defence of the homesteads, so we had major advances in technology for farming and warfare at the same time in our history. Over the last 10,000 years, man has used every method at his disposal to select and breed plants and animals for high productivity, the resulting domesticated species (especially plants) bear little resemblance to their wild ancestors, and certainly would not have arisen by 'natural' means. The success of 'industrial agriculture' over the last 150 years has gone hand in hand with large increases in human population size. This expansion is ongoing and the population is set to double in the next 50 years. Even present high-tech agricultural practices will not be sufficient to feed the human population in the middle of this century. Our understanding of the detailed genetic composition of plants and animals, and our ability to change this in defined and precise ways, is set to be one of the greatest technological advances of the 21st century. The challenge to modern agriculture is to use this technology to increase the quality and quantity of food, whilst reducing the impact of food production on the environment. By carrying out high quality research we can make sure all new technologies maximise the benefits and minimise the risks to the environment and ourselves. But going back to the original question ...... is all this natural ? Well. I suppose the big question is whether humans are natural ? ... I, for one, believe we are......warts, carbon monoxide, plastic, pesticides and all! Dr Stephen R. Pearce ~~~~~~~
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The daffodils which prompted me to include this poem were not in the Lake District, but in the grassy banks which line the road from Dundee to Aberdeen! And of course, elsewhere. There is so much beauty in nature, agreed? ~~~~~~~JUST IMAGINE: You are sentenced to a long term in prison for a murder you did not commit. oh. you could be released early. There's no problem. Just admit your 'guilt'. Show some remorse. Do your time quietly - don't get into trouble. But why should you? You're innocent! You want justice. You want the real murderer to be caught. You want the police to do their job properly. After all, you have been brought up to know that justice will always prevail. Then, after many years, some new evidence comes to light. In your case, statements by witnesses have been found which should have been presented at your original trial. At the Court of Appeal you are freed. Hurrah! But,...where do you go? What do you do? It's an alien world out here! You've no-one to turn to. The D.S.S. won't help - you've no address. You've no accommodation. The £46 from the prison doesn't go far. But wait! That 'Lifer' who got out after serving his few years has a flat waiting for him. The D.S.S. has money ready for him. The probation service ready to give him support. BUT, You're innocent! Can anyone help you? Yes. You have the £46 given you by the Prison Service! Is there really any justice out there???? Rev. Anne Wicker ~~~~~~~
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