By Pauline Benetti
Special to The PREVIEW
If one were forced to select a single word to describe Unitarian Universalists (UUs), it would certainly have to be diversity. We are very different from one another and yet, in an uncommon way, we are united in our diversity as we seek meaning in our individual ways.
Further, we listen to one another and encourage each other in that search regardless of whether we agree or not. That life practice is codified in our third and fourth principles. We affirm and promote:
• 3. Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth, and
• 4. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning.
In the spirit of our third principle, we come together this Sunday morning to listen to lay leader Michael Demchak as he asks some fundamental questions. He asks: What is “Reality?” How “real” is this world we perceive? How “real” are we ourselves? What is this reality truly made of? In the spirit of our fourth principle, he will attempt answers to these bold questions based on philosophy and science, and his own experiences and his interpretation of those experiences. He invites us to travel to the edge of the universe and down the rabbit hole in search of the construct and true meaning of reality.
Demchak was raised with a Unitarian Universalist background for most of his childhood in Connecticut. He moved to Denver with his family in 1976 and began attending the Mile High Church of Religious Science. He studied computer science at Metropolitan State College, but pursued other careers, including pharmacy technician, accounting and facilities management. In 2006, Demchak helped facilitate The Magickal Mystical Muse in Boulder, a weekly intentional dance with live musicians and a spiritual emphasis.
In 2007, he became active in a pagan meet-up group and helped it grow into Living Earth Church, where he co-created many circles and events as a pagan priest. He also created and was the music director of Beltania, an annual pagan music festival, from 2009-2011.
Demchak has been an ordained minister since 2008 and has officiated several weddings and handfastings. He enjoys camping, four-wheeling, skating, music, reading, photography and nature. He now lives in Pagosa Springs with his daughter, Katie, and is a member of the Pagosa Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.
Ours is a welcoming congregation; we invite everyone to share in our faith community. Usually, on third and fourth Sundays, leadership is by Pastor Dean Cerny. On other Sundays one of our lay leaders will preside. The Religious Exploration program has reached its end for this school year, but will start up again in September. For more information, contact Anna Ramirez at afrancis_@hotmail.com.
Find us in Unit B-15 of the Greenbriar Plaza. From North Pagosa Boulevard, turn right onto Park Avenue and right again into Greenbriar Plaza, then turn left and continue around the complex until you see the Unitarian Universalist sign as it faces the mountains. Join us. For further information about the Pagosa Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, visit pagosauu.org or call 731-7900.
