UU Community Church member and retired Unitarian Universalist minister Rev. Harold Beu was a senior in high school when John F. Kennedy was assassinated. He participated in anti-war protests, including the March on Washington against the Vietnam War. He worked in a poverty-stricken neighborhood in Pittsburgh as part of ViSTA, the domestic version of the Peace Corps. He worked for a time as a high school teacher of history, civics, math, and psychology.
Harold went to graduate school in Berkeley and received his MDiv from Starr King School for the Ministry in Oakland. Ordained in 1982, he served Unitarian Universalist churches in California, Michigan, and Indiana before retiring a few years ago.
Harold actively works for Peace and Justice in our community as a member of Kalamazoo Non-Violent Opponent to War (KNOW) and can frequently be found at one of KNOW’s weekly vigils for Peace, Sunday at noon to 1:00 PM, in front of the Federal Building at the corner of Park and Michigan downtown Kalamazoo. Harold would like you to know that you are always welcome to join him at these vigils and reminds everyone to, “Keep hope alive!”
Rev. Harold Beu has been voting in presidential elections for some 60 years, and this one seems like the most disturbing and chaotic. No matter how the election turns out, Harold believes it is important for us to focus on that which matters the most … read more.
Rev. Harold Beu thinks what is most lacking today in America is wisdom. And despite what oldsters may think, wisdom does not necessarily come with old age. But what is wisdom? Join Harold as he does his best to explicate what wisdom is and how … read more.
All religions have the element of the nonrational, including our own. Affirming the inherent worthiness of every person is a core UU principle. Can we truly believe this? For example, one could point to Adolph Hitler, who seems to be the poster child of evil, … read more.
At 78 years old, Rev. Harold Beu has seen a good bit of our nation’s turmoil from the Vietnam War, the assassinations of prominent leaders, to riots involving the police, and the rise of various movements, beginning with the Civil Rights movement, which was a … read more.
Most Unitarian Universalists were born into the Christian tradition and many left it with pretty hard feelings. But, Christianity is the dominant religion of our nation and the Western World. It makes sense for UUs to look at Jesus’ teachings and model as our predecessors … read more.
The following quote is from the Book “Understanding Fear in Ourselves and Others” by Bonaro Overstreet, author, poet, psychologist, and lecturer: Of all the emotional forces that pattern our individual and interpersonal behaviors, fear has that most insidious power to make us do what … read more.
One of the favorite readings for weddings from Paul in Corinthians 13 on his thoughts about love. He ends that verse with these words: … But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. Certainly, love is what we hunger … read more.
The most difficult problem in knowing what to do about the environment is knowing what the problem is. It is hard to know because we generally do not feel the results of ecological degradation until it is too late, too painful, or too toxic. Obviously, … read more.
“Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” These words were spoken by Robert Oppenheimer on the occasion of the first detonation of a nuclear weapon on July 16, 1945, in Los Alamos, New Mexico. He named the weapon Trinity after a John … read more.
Much of the division we are experiencing in our land is our inability to come to terms with what happened 160 years ago, our Civil War, which was our nation’s greatest crisis and carnage. As the great Southern writer, William Faulkner said, “The past is … read more.
