The Pageless Book

Photo Above by Angela Hopper.

Jules from a UU Deist in Texas has tagged me for yet another blogging meme. I’m suppose to provide ten weird, random facts about myself. I could do much more, but I think I’ll stick with ten. Also, I don’t think it would hurt to try to stick with the theme of my blog for this one, so I’ll try to choose facts that deal with religion or spirituality.

1) I taught myself meditation when I was elementary school. One would think that such early experience with meditation would make it a life long habit. Alas, no - I have become woefully lazy in adulthood, and rarely make time for meditation.

2) I used to peruse Wiccan, pagan, and occult websites during my programming classes in high school. Suffice to say, I no longer remember how to program in BASIC, but I’m still perusing those websites.

3) For Halloween one year, the church that my mother sent us to for Sunday School asked the children to dress up as Biblical characters. They took offense when my brother an I showed up with toy six shooters and ten gallon hats. Cowboys, apparently, do not appear in the Bible.

4) Same church taught that drinking alcohol and smoking were sinful, and unrepentant drinkers and smokers were going to hell. My mother, who used to drink and smoke, took offense to that. Needless to say, my brother and I were pretty much un-churched from then forward.

5) At one point in my childhood, my parents were toying with the idea of becoming Mormons. Yes, I’m well aware of the irony.

6) My mother, my brother, and I have had extensive conversations discussing the meaning behind Marilyn Manson, Nirvana, and Nine Inch Nails lyrics - particularly within a religious and moral contexts. My mother’s thinking was that if we were mature enough understand it, we were mature enough to listen.

7) I think I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again - I knew I wanted to become minister before even knowing what religion to become a minister of. Yes, that is a very backwards way to approach religion.

When I told my mother that I felt I was no longer a Christian, she remarked that she was more afraid that I was going to tell her that I was a homosexual. No, that didn’t sit well with me, but I let it slide at the time because it meant exploring new faiths without having to hide my activities.

9) Learning about The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Aleister Crowley, Qabalah, and Gnosticism gave me a renewed respect for the Jewish God and Jesus Christ. Catholic Theologians everywhere are turning in their graves so fast that they are generating electricity!

10) Oh, and lets not forget that whole “Omnitheism” / “The Gated Emptiness” thing that this site has going for it. There is nothing stranger than an eccentric blogging about his beliefs…

I will forgo tagging others for now, seeing as I’m still getting back into the swing of things. Hopefully you’ve found this entertaining. Namaste.

Above Photo by Jack Dorsey. Photo Below by Miguel B.

There is a lot to be said in regards to the power and meaning behind one person’s name. When we utter the names of great men and women, we evoke something of what they stood for. These names can be as ancient as Alexander the Great or as modern as Benazir Bhutto and stir a range of intense emotions, negative and positive. In myths and fairytales, names have a supernatural effect on reality whether it is breaking a curse by guessing the name of a devilish imp, or defending the king’s name to restore his kingdom. In tribal cultures, naming calls for an elaborate ceremony in which the person to be named undergoes various trials and tests to prove readiness for adulthood. It is little wonder actors, actresses, musicians, and other entertainers choose to change their names or take stage names; they want to be hard to forget.

Alternatively, there are those who wish to forget. I haven’t seen or talked to my blood father since I was five or six, and wouldn’t recognized him if I passed him by on the street. After long and hard thought, I decided that I no longer wanted to carry his name. There was too much pain and weakness in his name for me. The name I chose to have instead needed to represent all my strengths and uniqueness; I wanted to be the first in a new family line. So when I did finally settle on a name, I made sure that it wasn’t a name that I would have to share with anyone else. I doubt I am alone in changing my name to distance myself from blood relatives, as there are a lot of broken families in this world.

Perhaps rooted in the superstitions regarding names and naming, there is an important truth concerning human nature. I can’t quite discern what truth that would be, though. What I do know is that even if I’m not the person being called, I can’t help but react to the sound of my name on an emotional level. My name seems to be apart of me, integral to my personality, beliefs, and thoughts.

Currently, I write under the pseudonym, John Pageless. I am becoming more dissatisfied with writing under this pseudonym. While I fear the consequences of blogging under my real name, I am also ashamed that I have been hiding behind this pseudonym. Here is the painful truth about blogging - everyone can read what you write. Employers and future employers, aunts, uncles and grandparents, brothers, sisters, friends and complete strangers - everyone can read this blog.

I chose to write under this pseudonym to protect myself from the harsh judgement of the off-line world. But is it worth my integrity? What I say here means a great deal to me. When I talk about religious tolerance and spiritual growth, I hope you understand that these are not just hollow words - I put my whole self out on this blog. Except my name, that is…

Well, I think what I say here is worthy of my name, so I don’t feel I should hide it any longer. My real name is John Michael Crovis. For those playing the home game, you are correct in guessing that my wife is Cathy Crovis of Ripples of Improvement. We both started blogging about the same time, although Cathy began her blog using her real name, where as I wasn’t so sure that was a wise idea. I am not sure what to expect now that I’m officially blogging under my real name, but my hope is that little, if anything, will change.

We shall see…

Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Reverend Kit Ketcham from Ms. Kitty’s Saloon and Road Show. As one of the most beloved minster bloggers in the Unitarian Universalist blogosphere, it is an honor having her as my first interview on The Pageless Book. I am thankful that she agreed to the interview and hope that you visit her blog to read more of her mirth and wisdom. Namaste.

Above Photo by Philip Kromer. Photo Below of Reverend Kit Ketcham. Bread Photo by Miheco.
Volunteer Sign Photo by Tim Parkinson.

It’s hard to know when to respond to the seductiveness of the world and when to respond to its challenge. If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I rise in the morning torn between the desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day. - E.B. White

John Pageless: You first started your blog about a year and a half ago. I’ve went back and read your first post, but it only indicated in a vague manner your original purpose for blogging. Can you please clarify your original purpose for your blog and discuss how has that purpose changed over the last year and a half?

Rev. Ketcham: I originally started the blog because I wanted to comment on someone’s post and found that I needed to register if I wanted to really get into commenting. And I’ve always liked to write, so it was attractive from that perspective. I had no original purpose for the blog, but my old moniker from Citizens’ Band radio days was Ms. Kitty and I wanted to use that. I also have a secret desire to be a torch singer and figured if I had my own saloon, they’d have to let me be part of the show!

JP: As the daughter of a Baptist preacher, you had a strong religious upbringing. Yet at some point, you moved on to become a Unitarian Universalist, only to later take up ministry yourself. From what I understand of your blog, this was in part to the social revolution of the 1960’s. What initially lead you on this spiritual journey and how has it impacted your ministry?

Rev. K: I think I always secretly wanted to be a minister, but when I graduated from college in 1963, the only thing they were training women to do was become Christian Education directors, aka glorified Sunday School teachers in my opinion. But the careers I have had, starting right after college, were all in social service work - welfare caseworker, community center work, teaching/counseling - and all formed a foundation for me which made ministry a wonderful next step. For me, the social service work was more important than the religion I was attached to, until I felt a strong call to the ministry and then I moved into the position of leading others in social service work.

As a minister, I feel a strong pull to do interfaith work. I think UUs will get much more done in the world if we link arms with other religious communities. I would say that my sense of this impacts my ministry deeply. I want to be involved with people of other faiths; I want my congregation to be involved with people of other faiths. I don’t see how we can change the world without creating coalitions of progressive people.

JP: Unitarian Universalism is an evolving tradition; young, yet not without a solid historical foundation. You’ve witnessed and even wrote about this religion’s evolution. Where do you see Unitarian Universalism in the future and what part do you play now to help create that future?

Rev. K: I think of Unitarian Universalism as the catalytic agent in our society; think “yeast” in a loaf of bread. I’m not sure it matters whether we have zillions of members or not. I’m inclined to think that we have made a huge difference in society since our inception. I’m also a believer in getting the message out; we have a message of salvation that is different from traditional faith. I read blogs and hear stories of how things play out in other congregations and I can see that there is a wide variety of healthy activist congregations; I think the East coast, because of its population decline, may be struggling with a lessening of energy, while the West is the recipient of new energy because we are increasing in our population. I know some of my colleagues in the East feel frustrated by that lack of energy. I don’t sense the lack of energy here; I sense a constant upwelling of energy and growth.

I hope we don’t get bogged down in the numbers game, thinking that the only way we can make a difference is by increasing our numbers. We need to focus on our mission, which is to change society. If people are attracted to us by our actions in society, that’s much healthier growth than people who come through the doors because we have cute sermon titles.

JP: One of the positive aspects of Unitarian Universalism is that we are exposed to a large number of religions and philosophies. We are probably one of the most inclusive spiritual traditions in America today. This lends itself to an honest approach to spiritual exploration and self discovery. However, suppose this religion and the religion you were born into did not exist; which other religion or philosophy would you be most likely to take up and why?

Rev. K: I am pretty sure that if I had it to do over again, I would be a Quaker, because I am very attracted to their practice of non-violence. But circumstances led me to UUism and I am happy here. However, if I ever retire to a place where there is no UU congregation and there is a Quaker meeting, I know where I’ll go! I’m a Christian at heart; Jesus’s message is foundational for me. But I’m not likely to choose a Christian church these days. Too many integrity issues bog down the message of Jesus in traditions where they are still fighting about gender, sexual orientation, etc.

JP: I’ve been fairly public about my intention to become a Unitarian Universalist minister. Even though my journey has been waylaid by recent financial difficulties, I’m still resolute on making ministry a part of my life. As someone who has been raised by a preacher and became a minister herself, is there any advice you would impart to me?

Rev. K: Hmmm. The journey into ministry often takes a long time. I would just recommend that you not be discouraged and that you recognize that every day you spend NOT a minister is preparation for becoming a minister. Use everything that happens to you as preparation. It’s the figurative money in the bank of life. I can’t visualize what kind of minister I would be today if I hadn’t put in all those years in social service work, in being a parent and spouse, in learning to lead highly intelligent people in social groups, in living from paycheck to paycheck, in volunteering in various ways. Be involved as deeply as you can in your local congregation; start something new there; try your wings at something new.

Photo by Andrew Kuchling.

On Wednesday, The Pageless Book had its one hundredth entry. If you deduct the two guest articles I have had, today’s entry would be the one hundredth. Regardless of how you choose to look at it, the blog has reached a milestone. It is is time to take a good look around and ask myself if this blog is progressing as it should.

Do I have the readership I have hoped for? Is the writing quality consistent? Can I say that this blog is efficiently organized? Am I happy with this blog over all? Almost every question I can think of, I would have to answer negatively. I see a lot of room for improvement, both in my own performance and in the quality of my blog.

However, there is also a lot of which I am proud. I love writing and being apart of this community. After six months of blogging, I still enjoy doing this. I’m hoping to expand on this blog and continue to grow. I’m not going to be giving up on The Pageless Book any time soon, despite what my recent actions might indicate.

Over the next few weeks, I will be making several improvements to The Pageless Book, the first of which is to make sure that new material is available Monday through Friday every week. You can also look forward to the continuation of the Friday Vibes and Site In Focus series. I’ve realized the value that they add to this blog, and need to re-institute them. I also need to go through my older entries, rewrite and resubmit them on the weekends. Finally, this site needs to be reorganized so that each post fits into one or two categories, rather than the four or five categories that each post currently falls into.

My hope is that these changes will invigorate this website and bring in new readers. Whether I am successful or not depends entirely on me and my ability to be consistent. I hope to deliver on the promise that this blog represents.

“Nail in my hand from my creator,
You gave me life - now show me how to live”
- Audioslave, Show Me How To Live (2002)

Photo above by Tom Rolfe. Photo below by Pixsellr.

Recently, I responded to an article on Internet Monk.com about the movie Cloverfield (which I highly recommend, by the way) and the impact that world-spanning natural disasters would have on the meaning behind the Book of Revelations. I was clear that I wasn’t a Christian and was just putting my two cents in for discussion purposes. One of the other readers of that article noticed my comment and moseyed on over to my About Me page to read about my journey towards becoming a minister. Under the pseudonym “Texan,” he then directed a comment to me under the same article that read:

“I just read your blog & your ‘about me’ section. I hope you find what you are searching for, and I pray it is Christ. “Unitarian Universalism” is not the answer I’m afraid.”

Now, I can appreciate that he was hoping the best for me, or at least what he considers to be the best, but there are several things that bother me about this comment. First of all, he didn’t have enough common decency to say this on my blog instead of hiding it on someone else’s. Not only was it an off-topic comment and thus disrespectful to Mr. Spencer, but it was also very telling as to this person’s true perception of non-Christians. Did he think I wouldn’t let the comment stand if it was posted on my blog? I’d like to think I’m pretty welcoming of criticism and debate as long as it’s constructive and respectful.

And, of course, there is the casual dismissal of my denomination and the patronizing tone; meh - I could let that slide to be honest. No, what bothered me most of all was the implication that because I am still searching, that I had not “found Christ.” I don’t think this gentleman quite understands what religion and spirituality is really about. He’s missing a vital piece of the puzzle and doesn’t even realize it. If he had, he would know that finding Christ has nothing to do with being Christian.

Simply put, religion is about learning how to live with meaning. That is the sum of all religious experience boiled down to six words: “Learning How to Live with Meaning.” If you are a Christian, it means you follow the teachings of Jesus on how to live. Buddhists, on the other hand, follow the suggestions of Buddha on how to live a good life. I call myself neither simply because I don’t think it is necessary to follow one teacher in exclusion to all others. You wouldn’t go to school to just learn math to the exclusion of all other subjects. Why learn how to live from only one spiritual teacher?

I think the biggest mistake, however, is the assumption that searching can only be for those who have not found Truth. Quite to the contrary, searching is Truth. If you’ve stopped asking questions and settled on one particular list of beliefs, you haven’t found the Truth, you’ve given up on it. Revelation is on-going, Genesis is still in process, and there is always something new to learn. Perhaps I should pray that Texan comes to this realization, although I doubt he would see this as a blessing. It is more appropriate to let him find his own way, as we all should.

Photo above by Diego Avila. Artwork below by Roy Blumenthal.

The last post I wrote was three days ago, on Thursday. I wanted to write a “Friday Vibes” article, but due to technical difficulties, I would have had to post it on Saturday. I decided there wasn’t much sense in doing that. So here I am today, Monday, still contemplating the events of last week, wanting to talk about it, even though it has already been discussed to death. Woe is me…

I really shouldn’t be too disappointed, seeing as last week I nominated for the UU Blog Awards. However, sporadic posting and constant whining about your blog on your blog isn’t necessarily a good way to win a blog award. Cutting back on articles posted per week and dropping one of your most popular series isn’t a good way to muscle in those votes, either. And admitting that you’ve made several mistakes in the past week to turn off your readers? Well, at least I can still say I’m honest. But the most sure fire way to ensure that I *not* win the Blog Awards that I’ve been nominated for, would be to promote my competition instead of myself. It would be rather foolish for me to do that…

Have I mentioned that Shelby from Looking For Faith has been nominated for “Best Religious Writing or Theological Commentary - Best of Class?” Yes, the same Shelby that I keep mentioning over and over again. She is one of the first people to actually welcome me to the UU blogging community, and I’ve been showering her with link-love ever since. She also recently picked up the torch for promoting social media in the UU blogging community. I will, of course, be voting for her.

Jules from UU Deist in Texas got a nod for “Best New Blog”. I really enjoy his writing style, his choice of subject matters, and the new look of his blog is impressive. I know this is wrong of me, but every time I read something written by Julian, I have a habit of imagining his speaking it in a Texas twang. Although to be fair, he may very well be reading this post to himself thinking I sound like Link Larken from Hairspray, me being from Baltimore and all.

PeaceBang’s Beauty Tips for Ministers has been nominated for “Best Design or Use of Visuals.” I have to admit, I don’t read this particular blog; I’m naturally gorgeous and have no need for beauty tips. Although the visuals *are* rather nice, and PeaceBang is spiffy-cool enough to vote for, so I suppose I could make an exception and vote for Beauty Tips.

Finally, there is the “Best Seminarian Blog” award. There is The Pageless Book, which is okay I guess, but I really prefer Elizabeth’s Little Blog. I haven’t been following it for long, but her blog covers some interesting topics and is worth reading. One article, on why “The Secret is Total Bunk,” has even been nominated for one of the single-article awards. I’ll be keeping my eye on this blog for the future.

In all seriousness, I wish everyone best of luck in snagging a few Blog Awards. Despite recent set-backs, The Pageless Book will continue to grow and be will be even more worthy of a Blog Award next year. I’m just honored to have been nominated along side such talent.

Photo above by Ibrahim Iujaz. Image below by “bdesignbe”.

During my middle school years, I was active in my school choir. When I say I was active, I don’t mean that I was the snot-nosed kid that missed half of the events and nodded off to sleep in music class. Actually, I was somewhat of a star student; I was the only baritone. More than that, I was chosen from all of my classmates to represent our school in a regional choir competition. I bet you didn’t even know there was such an animal!

Now, I don’t want you to get the impression that I can actually sing. It took a lot of voice training and effort on my part to sing on key and in harmony. If you asked me to try to sing now, I’m sure I’d shatter glass and make dogs howl. I point this aspect of my past out because it is one of the major reasons why I hate Christmas music and show tunes and yet never seem to get them out of my head. Singing in the Rain? Yes, it stuck in my head right now. Silver Bells? God Bless Ye Merry Gentlemen? Oh, Christmas time was our big season! The King and I? The moment I wrote the title of this post, I began compulsively singing…

Yet, this is still apart of who I am. I wouldn’t be who I am today if it wasn’t for the experiences I have had in my past. Every day I post a new article, I’m revealing apart of who I am, what I believe, and where I am going in life. I’m sharing some of the most intimate details of myself. I think a bit of turn-around is only fair.

One of your number nominated my blog for the UU Blog Awards. While this is an honor, I think it is more important that you are showing me that I am doing something right. I want to know what that is so I can do more of it! As such I’ve written a list of questions below that I’d like you to answer as honestly as you can in my comments. This is to help me understand you, my readers, so I can make this blog a more welcoming place for all of you. I especially want to hear from my RSS subscribers! Please answer the following:

• Which religion or spiritual path do you identify with?
• Which of my articles is your favorite and why?
• Which of my articles is your least favorite and why?
• What would you like to see more of or less of?
• Are you an RSS Subscriber?

Recently, it has become abundantly clear to me that there just isn’t enough hours in the day to do everything that I want to do. I want to post new articles on a regular basis, I want to continue to promote my fellow bloggers, and I want get to know my readers better. On the other hand, circumstances in my off-line life must come first. It would be irresponsible for me to let issues of family, work, finances, and life in general to be dominated by my love of blogging.

Unfortunately, I have bitten off more than I can chew in regards to this blog. I need to cut back down to posting five times a week. I may even go so far as to posting new articles only four times a week, if circumstances dictates. One of my three article series had to be let go. After much consideration, I felt that the UUU Project Updates were the best choice.

The past month or so has been really awesome in regards to the growth of this blog, and much of it has to with the community of which I am apart. One of the things that has really made me appreciate this community is the response to my Unknown Unitarian Universalist article and the subsequent UUU Project Updates I post on Sunday. I enjoy helping this community grow through the use of social media and will continue to work towards this end. However, I can no longer be the man with the plan in this regard.

If anyone else would like to pick up where I left off, I welcome you to do so. Nothing would make me happier to see someone else take the ball from me and run with it. Unitarian Universalism has a voice that needs to be heard the world over, and I can think of no better way of being heard than here, online. Let’s continue to work in making ourselves known.

Namaste.

It rarely pays to be presumptuous, but today I’m feeling a bit cocky, so I’m going to let down my guard. For the shear pleasure of my ego, I’m going to point out articles posted on the blogs I have read recently that I believe have been influenced by yours truly. Shortly after, I’m sure I will be swiftly and mercilessly corrected, but for a brief moment my self esteem will have thrown a small party for itself. Let’s commence with the foolishness, shall we?

Rev. Dan Harper, from Yet Another Unitarian Universalist has written an absolutely silly article concerning the true nature of happiness. Was he influenced by the mightiness of my humor article? Why, of course, Rev. Harper is my minion now! He’s quoting a British comedy series in one of his future sermons. A college educated man couldn’t possibly be brilliant enough to think of that on is own!

uuMomma pointed out an article regarding a new UU minister who has - get this - tattoos! Now, I can’t claim to have direct influence over someone I don’t even know, and I will have to admit that this article was printed before I had written my Tattooed Minister article, but you’ve got to love the synchronicity. I’d like to think it is a result of my pervasive cosmic psychic abilities, working beyond the limits of space-time - however unlikely that may be. In all seriousness, Rev. Eliza Galaher is an inspiration and I highly recommend reading her story.

Jeff, from Transient and Permanent, covered a subject that I’ve traversed in the past and wrote a piece on ReligiousTolerance.org. If you don’t remember, the precursor to my Site In Focus feature was Religious Tolerance Website Death Match, which had a long name but a short life of only two posts. My article on ReligiousTolerance.org is not as good as Jeff’s, but I am still proud that I provided him with the idea. I did… didn’t I?

Finally, Steve Caldwell from Liberal Faith Development was probably taking he cue from me when he wrote an article about Unitarian Universalism being noticed outside of the UU blogosphere. Yes, I know my recent attempts at drawing more traffic into the UU blog community has Steve in admiration of me. That’s okay - I’m a humble man who is not above being looked up to.

Thank you all for your sincerest form of flattery. I feel like a proud father… one that is senile and confused, but a proud father none-the-less. Now let’s please commence with deflation of my ego.
Photo above by Guiri R. Reyes.

Photo by Buck Blues

Two weeks I’ve been attempting to use StumbleUpon to help improve traffic to the liberal religion blogging community and I’ve learned a few things. First thing I have come to realize is that StumbleUpon is extremely addictive in the same way TV channel surfing is addictive. If you don’t grab their attention immediately, stumblers will bounce away from your website without a second thought. Another thing I’ve learned is that the more often you use StumbleUpon, the more authority your particular suggestions will have. This is important because now I know that I can’t really expect consistent positive results in two weeks.

Regardless, I want to hear your stories about how StumbleUpon is working for you and what you’ve learned from the experience. If you’ve been Stumbled, what was the traffic that you received from StumbleUpon like, and would you want to be Stumbled again? I plan on continuing using StumbleUpon to promote my fellow bloggers and hope that you are thinking about doing the same.

Digg It!

Much like StumbleUpon, Digg.com provides you with an up or down vote on news articles that have been submitted to their website. The difference is that, unlike StumbleUpon, your readers will not come upon your page at random, but will have to look for you. This means the visitors you gain from Digg are going to be expressly interested in the content you are providing.

For more information about digg, see the following articles:

• Beginner’s Guide to Digg
• How to Use Digg Like a Pro
• How to Digg Content

I’m going to start using Digg.com this week to promote the websites of fellow UUs and religious liberals, and I encourage everyone else to do the same. Give it a shot and tell me what you think. The more of us on the bandwagon, the stronger we are together. If you own a blog, write an entry to encourage your readers to join us and let me know about it so I mention your article in the next update.