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Vern Barnet | |
|---|---|
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| Born | May 25, 1942 |
| Occupation(s) | Interfaith minister, writer, teacher |
| Title | Reverend |
| Children | Benjamin |
| Website | cres.org |
Vern Barnet (born May 25, 1942 in Omaha, Nebraska) is a Unitarian Universalist pastor and was the weekly newspaper columnist on religious topics in The Kansas City Star 1994-2012. He is the founder of the Kansas City (area) Interfaith Council. [1]
As part of his doctoral preparation at the University of Chicago, Barnet studied with Mircea Eliade, Eugene Gendlin, and Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. Trained as a Unitarian Universalist pastor, Barnet left parish ministry in 1985 after serving churches in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Kansas, in order to promote interfaith work in the Kansas City region through an organization he founded in 1982, the World Faiths Center for Religious Experience and Study, Inc. ("CRES"). After developing relationships with members of many faiths in the area informally and through public events, in 1989 he founded the Kansas City (area) Interfaith Council with members of American Indian, Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian Protestant, Christian Roman Catholic, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Sufi, Unitarian Universalist, Wiccan, and Zoroastrian members. CRES continued to host the Council until 2005 when it became independent.
In 1994 The Kansas City Star asked him to write a regular Wednesday column on interfaith issues, which concluded in 2012. He has also taught comparative religions and related courses in American Baptist, United Methodist, and Unity seminaries and universities as an adjunct professor. He has been honored by Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and other groups in Kansas City and elsewhere and has been involved in numerous civic organizations and activities and is also known through numerous radio and TV appearances.
In 2001, he presided over the area's first major interfaith conference, "The Gifts of Pluralism," and led a Jackson County, Missouri task force which surveyed the five-county metro area in response to religious prejudice following the 9/11 terrorist attacks and issued a 77-page report with recommendations.
In 2007 he was the local coordinator for, and a member of the faculty of, the nation's first "Interfaith Academies" for religious professionals and emerging religious leaders, with partnerships with Harvard University's Pluralism Project and Religions for Peace - USA at the United Nations Plaza, held in Kansas City.
At those Academies, Ellie Pierce, principal researcher for The Pluralism Project, said, "At the Pluralism Project, we consider Kansas City to be truly at the forefront of interfaith relations This is -- in no small part -- due to the tireless efforts of Vern Barnet, whose work and writings have been an inspiration to all of us at the Pluralism Project. In a recent column, he wrote, 'Community is created not so much by intellectual debate but by people getting to know one another.'"
While retaining his professional status as a retired Unitarian Universalist minister, in 2011 he was baptized at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kansas City and is a member of St Paul's Episcopal Church in Kansas City. His activities as a layman include serving on a diocesan commission.
In addition to nearly 1000 Kansas City Star columns, his articles, poems, and reviews have appeared in publications such as The National Catholic Reporter, The Journal of the Liberal Ministry, and The Chicago Literary Review. He edited Worship Reader: An Anthology of Liberal Religious Worship Theory from Von Ogden Vogt (1921) to the Commission on Common Worship (1980) (Congregation of Abraxas, 1980). He was one of four editors of the 740-page reference book, The Essential Guide to Religious Traditions and Spirituality for Health Care Providers (Radcliffe Publishing, 2013). He served six years on the editorial board of Unity Magazine. His book of sonnets, Love Without Desire (Moose Magic Press), appeared in 1992. A second collection of sonnets in 2015, Thanks for Noticing: The Interpretation of Desire (La Vita Nuova Books), draws on themes from world religions and is heavily annotated. From 2005 through 2008, he wrote a monthly column for Camp, a Kansas City gay newspaper.
Universalism is the philosophical and theological concept that some ideas have universal application or applicability.
Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalist congregations. It was formed in 1961 by the consolidation of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America Christian denominations with Unitarian and Universalist doctrines, respectively. However, modern Unitarian Universalists see themselves as a separate religion with its own beliefs and affinities. They define themselves as non-creedal, and draw wisdom from various religions and philosophies, including humanism, pantheism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Judaism, Islam, and Earth-centered spirituality. Thus, the UUA is a syncretistic religious group with liberal leanings.
Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religious movement characterized by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists assert no creed, but instead are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth. Unitarian Universalists do not have an official, unified corpus of sacred texts. Unitarian Universalist congregations include many atheists, agnostics, deists, and theists; there are churches, fellowships, congregations, and societies around the world.
The Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans is an independent affiliate of Unitarian Universalists who identify with the precepts of classical or contemporary Paganism: celebrating the sacred circle of life and guiding people to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature. CUUPS members foster the development of "liturgical materials based on earth- and nature-centered religious and spiritual perspectives" as well as encourage "greater use of music, dance, visual arts, poetry, story, and creative ritual in Unitarian Universalist worship and celebration." Many members of CUUPS embrace the cycle of seasons and beauty of all life forms found in nature. Unlike many mainline religious sects, Unitarian Universalists and Pagans both value the "sacredness in the present world rather than on an afterlife." CUUPS is a community open to all Unitarian Universalist members and those who support the tenets.
Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels.
A variety of religious emblems programs are used by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to encourage youth to learn about their faith and to recognize adults who provide significant service to youth in a religious environment. These religious programs are created, administered and awarded by the various religious groups, not the BSA, but each program must be recognized by the BSA.
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The Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF) provides a ministry to isolated Unitarian Universalists (UUs). Its mission also includes growing Unitarian Universalism by supporting small congregations and new UUs around the world. The CLF also offers resources to Unitarian Universalists active in local congregations.
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Unitarian Universalism, as practiced by the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), and the Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC), is a non-Creedal and Liberal theological tradition and an LGBTQ affirming denomination.
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"Spirit of Life", number 123 in the Unitarian Universalist (UU) hymnal Singing the Living Tradition, is "by far the most commonly sung UU song". It was written by Carolyn McDade in 1981. "An outsider examining UU worship practices would almost certainly regard 'Spirit of Life' as the standard UU anthem." It has been used to represent Unitarian Universalism in interfaith contexts, such as the 1993 centennial celebration of the Parliament of World Religions.
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