As summer starts to inch toward a close, most children are heading off to school. This Sunday we will have a back to school blessing for all school aged children to honor their transition into a new school year. Summer also marks transitions for adults as well, with many families moving or beginning new jobs. With this kind of transition often comes church shopping, so it is no surprise that this month, churches all around the country are filled with visitors looking for a new church home. Join me as I explain why Unitarian Universalism is a saving faith and the increasing value of our liberal religious tradition.

We are also beginning our second year together and moving into our mutual consideration about whether I will become the next called minister of this church. I thought you might want to know why I would so confidently and humbly choose to commit myself to this congregation and its leadership. I am grounded by this congregation’s history, excited by its present and inspired by the potential I see for the future, a future that I hope we will embark upon together.

One of the things I enjoy about traveling is meeting new people. Except sometimes it is awkward to have to explain what I do for living. In some of these situations I find myself wishing I could simply say I am a businessman, artist, doctor, lawyer, teacher, salesman, computer technician, cook or anything other than a Unitarian minister. Most people have preconceived notions about clergy and religion. Sometimes these notions are positive. Even so, most people don’t have a clue what Unitarian or Universalist means. I came across a number of Europeans on one trip I took this summer and with the language translations that we had to make to communicate, I have no idea what they ended up thinking I meant by Unitarian. All of these discussions have prepared me to offer a new and improved answer to why I’m a Unitarian.

In a new book I am reading called Mindless Eating, Brian Wansick reports that today "you will make more than 200 food related decisions...90% of which you won't even be aware of." Often when it comes to food, all of our intentions are thrown out the window in the name of our social lives, treating ourselves, or giving into some unexplainable craving. Wansink has spent his career studying why we mindlessly instead of mindfully eat. Through a series of experiments, he has attempted to unveil the "hidden persuaders" that change our minds about what, when, and how much we consume.

Hunger is also the central metaphor used by Gestalt Psychologist Fritz Perls. Fritz and his wife Laura co-founded the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland where I was trained. The Gestalt Model focuses on the promotion of awareness, the awareness of the unity of all present feelings and behaviors, and the contact between the self and its environment. As religious people, we strive to live each moment more aware of our inner and outer realms. Eating gives us an opportunity to be aware of how our inner and our outer worlds interrelate as well as an opportunity to integrate our own theories and theology with practice. Join me as I explore the intersection of hunger, eating, and awareness.