tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30312228.post15053381988997794..comments2023-11-03T06:26:00.486-07:00Comments on Ms. Kitty's Saloon and Road Show: Experiencing the Mystery and WonderUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30312228.post-15820864925848747892007-09-23T15:15:00.000-07:002007-09-23T15:15:00.000-07:00Great sermon, Ms. K. We're all looking for more sp...Great sermon, Ms. K. We're all looking for more spirituality in our lives, I think. If only we didn't try so hard to change how others go after spirituality in their lives...Miss Kittyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13210249894351503887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30312228.post-16952062487748250192007-09-23T09:08:00.000-07:002007-09-23T09:08:00.000-07:00Great comment, LF. Thanks for asking.I used to ju...Great comment, LF. Thanks for asking.<BR/><BR/>I used to just use "Amen, Shalom, and Blessed Be" as my benedictory sign-off, knowing that we had Christians, Jews, and pagans in our congregation and that these words were significant to them in a number of ways. I added "salaam" after 9/11, even though we had no Muslims at the time worshipping with us, as a way to express solidarity with people who were being attacked as somehow responsible for the tragedy of 9/11.<BR/><BR/>It's my signature benediction format now and I stick with it because it has been so appreciated by most congregants.<BR/><BR/>Last night at the local Peace Vigil, I gave the benediction as well as a brief reading by Rebecca Parker, and closed with that line. As I did so, I saw lips moving in the hall, repeating with me those beautiful words. I'll probably always use it for that reason.Lilylouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02328027965155428624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30312228.post-88943977439173099172007-09-23T07:56:00.000-07:002007-09-23T07:56:00.000-07:00Of course, we have read bits of this as they surfa...Of course, we have read bits of this as they surfaced while you were thinking the sermon through, but it all works very well together. <BR/> I am a little puzzled by the peroration which you share with many other people, the "Amen, Shalom, Salaam, and Blessed Be". There are two Hebrew expressions, one meaning ""truth" or "so be it" and the other meaning "peace" (not synonymous), one Arabic word meaning "peace", and one English. I am not at all sure what "Blessed be" means, since the sentence has no subject. There is no Greek ("genoito" would mean "so be it", close in sense to "amen"), which is really a greater component of the Christian and UU traditions than is the Islamic "peace". There is no Latin (e.g. "pax vobiscum", "peace be with you", is traditional), which is certainly an important part of our Western tradition. Are all these words used as perorations/benedictions in their respective traditions? Is the objective to have synonymous expressions, or mutually complementary ones? I am sure that the objective is positive, but I do not know what the objective is. <BR/> LFLinguistFriendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02695715246663202212noreply@blogger.com