The The Unitarian Church in NSW PO Box 355, Darlinghurst NSW 1300 15 Francis Street, East Sydney (near Museum Station) Tel: (02) 9360 2038 SUN www.sydneyunitarianchurch.org Sydney Unitarian News Editor: M.R. McPhee August/September 2006 WATTLE DAY PARTY! Our final social event of the year, other than the Christmas Party, will take place in the church hall on Saturday, 02 September 2006 (Wattle Day being the day before). After our highly successful events this year with their Scottish and Russian flavourings (quite literally, where the food was concerned!), it has been decided to finish up with an Australian theme. Peter Crawford is heading this one up, ably assisted by the men and women who made the previous events the marvellous nights that they were. Funnily enough, an Australian night will possibly be the greatest challenge, as the City of Sydney Council won’t allow us to set up barbecues on the street and we can hardly have them inside. However, we promise you an authentic Australian three-course dinner along with poetry readings and songs from our country’s history and culture. The party will start at 7 pm, so be sure to attend and bring a bottle or two of your favourite beverage with you. Please advise the organisers if you have any contributions to make in the way of poems and/or songs. A donation of $10 per person will be needed to help with our expenses (to be collected on the night). Due to our limited facilities, we can only accommodate the first 40 people to book – so, do not delay! This is an event not to be missed, and the numbers have to be exact for catering purposes. Please RSVP to Michael Spicer on 0423 393 364 by 25 August 2006. MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS Please see the form on the last page if your membership is not current for 2006; also if you are not a member and wish to join. 1 Iek Diaha jilaiha; We light this chalice to bring light and warmth; Roshine saaygarmaiha; The Light and warmth that shows us the way; Jis naay iek rasta dikhaiha; The way to Compassion; Hamdardee koo apnaiha; The Compassion that is unconditional; Bina sharit lagaiha; The Unconditional that does not demand; Bina appnay jasa bana kay; Demand to be alike in our faith and beliefs; Iek Iman sounaiha; The Belief that Liberates from Human Tensions; Zahnee Dabaou, khuff aur; Fears and Phobias; Ihsasaay Ghounha saay churaiha; Guilt and Feeling of Sinfulness; Amen!!! Amen!!! [This is the Chalice Lighting nominated by the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists for the month of June, submitted by the Unitarian Universalist Christians of Pakistan. The Urdu and English words were written by their national director and minister, Inderias Bhatti.] SERVICE DIARY Meetings every Sunday from 10.30 –11.30am (followed by coffee, tea and biscuits) Date Presenter Topic 6th August Ian Ellis-Jones The Truth about Freemasonry 13th August Joy Rulewsky Summit Lighthouse 20th August Peter Crawford Power of Hinduism and its Lessons for Unitarians 27th August Peter Roger Music Service 3rd September Ian Ellis-Jones Krishnamurti and the Star of the East 10th September Rev. Sherman Kim Spring Communion 17th September Patrick Bernard What I Love about Russia 24th September Peter Roger Music Service [Please check the church website (www.sydneyunitarianchurch.org) for updates. The program for October will be available from the beginning of September.] LETTER FROM THE U.S.A. Dear Sherman Kim, I am writing to say thanks for ‘keeping the faith’ of Unitarianism alive and well. A few weeks ago, a friend of mine was travelling alone in Australia and received some bad news. She wanted to go somewhere that she’d feel welcomed and supported, and although she’s not Unitarian she knew enough about us that she attended a service at your church. When I saw her a few months later, she reported that it was exactly what she needed – friendly people and a religious environment that helped her feel grounded. Thanks, and keep up the good work! If you're ever in Washington, we’d love to have you at All Soul’s Church (http://www.all-souls.org/). I hope to make it to Australia one of these days, and will definitely look you up. Rob Keithan, Director,Washington (DC) Office for Advocacy Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations 2 WHAT HAPPENED TO ELECTRIC CARS? By Peter Crawford. When I first became interested in the environmental movement back in the 1960s, like many young folk at the time, I dreamed of the appearance of electric cars. What happened? A compelling film, Who Killed the Electric Car?, by new film director Chris Paine tells us. The film was a hit at the American alternative ‘Sundance Kid’ festival a few months ago. It was released in American theatres on June 28th and we can only hope for its widespread release in Australia in the near future. Hollywood’s love affair with the car is nothing new. We think of movies like ‘Thelma and Louise’ when the heroines surrounded by cops on the one side, and great canyons on the other put their foot down on the accelerator and simply fly to freedom. The sheer exhilaration infects the audience with delight. Then of course there is Hollywood’s endless obsession with car chases, and cars in gangster movies like ‘The Untouchables’. But Paine’s film presents a new and entirely and provocative view of cars. The car he loved was no 1930s Buick or Cadillac, or antique or veteran car, or prestige European or boutique car, but rather an electric car. It was not some home made device with a dozen or so batteries, but a refined and beautiful car manufactured by General Motors. In the 1990s, when the more responsible elements of the Green movement controlled more of California’s political agenda than they do today, ‘Zero Omissions’ legislation was introduced. Reluctantly though it was in its technological infancy, General Motors produced EV1, the most aerodynamic production car ever made. It was immensely popular among ‘the green and gadget loving set’ of California. The same consumers can today be found in the showrooms of the Toyota Prius. However, unlike the hybrid cars which are growing into an immensely popular alternative to strictly internal combustion engines, electric cars went out of production. Motor Vehicle companies claimed that the reason for the failure of the electric car concept was lack of consumer demand. This is shown to be a furphy by the course of the film. One overhead scene, where a helicopter has entered a General Motors plant, shows the crushing of EV1s in complete contra- diction to GM’s claim at the time that it was going to save the electric car. Who were the culprits behind the trashing of the car and the concept? We could imagine oil companies, the auto manufacturers, lack of consumer interest, even rational environmental legislators who perhaps saw electric cars as no answer to anything. In fact, this movie points to just one culprit and what a big culprit to boot! If this movie was just an environmental documentary, it could be just another boring recount. But it is not presented to the audience as a recount but as a story worthy of an Agatha Christie mystery. According to the best reviewers of American alternative cinema, Who Killed the Electric Car? is worthy of seeing, not just to understand the cynicism and environmental irresponsibility of US auto manufacturers, not simply because a new generation of electric cars – including plug-in versions of modern hybrid cars – is inevitably on the way, but because the movie has the quality of a crime thriller. And, in the metaphorical and moral sense, it is a crime thriller. NEWS FROM INDONESIA The Unitarians of Indonesia, known as the Indonesia Global Church of God, have reported to the ICUU that the 27 May earthquake on Java damaged the homes of members of their Klaten congregation and destroyed houses in Yogyakarta, where they have another group. There were no IGCG casualties, as most of their members were attending the Annual Church Gathering at Sarangan in East Java, well away from the quake zone. The IGCG appealed for financial help for their reconstruction effort and in assisting a harder-hit community. 3 THE VICAR OF BRAY In good King Charles’s golden time When Royal Anne became our Queen When loyalty no harm meant Then Church of England’s Glory A zealous high churchman1 was I Another face of things was seen And so I gained preferment2 And I became a Tory To teach my flock I never missed Occasional conformists base Kings are by God appointed I blamed their moderation And damned are those who dare resist And thought the Church in danger was Or touch the Lord’s annointed. By such prevarication. Chorus When George in pudding time3 came o’er And this is law that I’ll maintain And moderate men looked big, Sir. Until my dying day, Sir. My principles I changed once more That whatsoever king may reign And so became a Whig, Sir. Still I’ll be the Vicar of Bray, Sir! And thus preferment I procured From our new faith’s defender. When Royal James possessed the crown And almost every day abjured And popery came in fashion The Pope and the Pretender. The Penal Laws I hooted down And read the Declaration The illustrious house of Hanover The Church of Rome I found did fit And Protestant succession Full well my constitution To these I do allegiance swear And I had been a Jesuit While they can keep possession But for the Revolution.