From: lars@beagle-ears.com   
      
   On 2025-12-28, rbowman  wrote:   
   > Bernie self-identifies as a democratic socialist but he really is a social   
   > democrat. The DSA isn't a party but sort of a big tent for the slightly   
   > edgy left.   
      
   On Sun, 28 Dec 2025 03:58:16 -0000 (UTC), Lars Poulsen wrote:   
   >> Well, in my church, "commitment to the democratic process in our   
   >> congregations and in the community at large" is a religious principle.   
   >> You might say we consider election is a sacrament.   
      
   > As I mentioned in my experience the democratic process in the UU church   
   > means you're never quite sure what you're going to find.   
      
   Yes - they range from King's Chapel in Boston, which just does not   
   believe that Jesus was divine, but otherwise still use a slightly   
   adapted version of "The Book of Common Prayer" for their rituals,   
   100% atheist humanism from the pulpit. Many of them have a Buddhist   
   sangha embedded. In the Western states, Humanism is dominant.   
   And even in Boston, there is a Humanist UU congregation (Arlington   
   Street) just a few blocks from King's Chapel.   
      
   After Covid, our congregation has stayed hybrid - we typically have   
   60-80 members in the building and 10 or so on Zoom. One of our board   
   members (my ex-wife) joins us from Iowa. She also leads a Sangha in Des   
   Moines, and co-leads (on Zoom) our local Sangha on Tuesday nights.   
      
   We also have a man from Nigeria who has joined, even if it is hard for   
   him to get enough bandwith for Zoom from his mobile network. He lives in   
   a small village, and there seems to be a hill between his little house   
   and the cell tower in the next village over.   
      
   Zoom also makes it much easier for our 90 year olds to attend.   
   --   
   Lars Poulsen - an old geek in Santa Barbara, California   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)