rpavellas

Thank you for your greeting and wishes, Rev'd Rattlesnake..

Hello, Atwater (Is this how you wish to be addressed?), I respond well to 'Ron'. I have used the nom-de-radio "Pavel Hammer" when I had a 2-hour classical music show on Sundays in Homer, Alaska, 1993-95. But that was then. Yes, connections are everywhere. I am no longer much surprised about coincidences and synchronicities. I believe Carl Jung predicted this in self-aware people as they age. Uppsala is a lovely town, full of interesting history, as you know. At a church there I attended the ceremony where my wife's oldest son received his medical doctorate. I have friends there whom I visit occasionally. What was the object of your fellowship? I moved to Sweden to be with my Swedish wife who, when we married in San Jose 10 years ago, was still employed in Sweden (I had just retired), as she still is. I don't have the Swedish language well for several reasons/excuses, primarily because I don't have to. No doubt you discovered how well many or most people (in the major population centers, anyway) speak English. There are many English-speaking expatriates in Stockholm, as well. Before I really retired into writing, I founded the English speaking Rotary Cub in Stockholm, chartered May, 2003. As for the feeling of treading the land that your ancestors did, I had, perhaps, a similar anticipatory experience before visiting Greece for the first, and so far only time. Eva and I were särbo for five years (back and forth between Stockholm and San Jose). One summer we (along with three of her children) met in Kos, a Greek island where Hippocrates had his Asklepieion. I wrote this poem(?) in anticipation: On the Eve of Traveling to the Land of My Ancestors. I did feel at home there, even though I don't speak the language. I have reflected on the experiences of my nearest forebears and on the times they lived, in many of the articles of my 'family' blog, and elsewhere. If you may have an interest, you can go here: https://pavellasfamily.wordpress.com/; and here: Hard Times. I may well visit ULC HQ in Modesto in May next year when I will begin an extended visit with my daughter and her family (and see others in my family). I was chief executive of the County's hospital 1975-79, and one of my five children was born in Modesto. My personality type (INTJ--just Google it) is such that I take things seriously, including now being ordained by ULC. I don't take it lightly; I want to behave responsibly toward the church while under its mantle. I see that there are a number of ULC ministers in Sweden, including a handful in and around Stockholm. I don't know yet if I will attempt contact with them. It's pleasant communicating with you. Med vänliga hälsningar, Ron pavellas.com

Thanks, Bro. Same on this end. I read your bio. Three of my grand parents emigrated from Greece around 1900. On my mother's side, the circumstances sound similar to those of your antecedents: poverty, Great Depression, etc. It's amazing how my mother and her two sisters and one brother survived the Great Depression and many hardships to live productive lives until they reached the end at ages 80-95.

Why I Became Ordained By The ULC The triggering event was my son’s asking me to perform the marriage ceremony for him and his fiancée. I have known of the ULC since its beginning, having then lived in the San Francisco area. The newspapers often carried stories about the Church’s formation and of the struggles it had with officialdom in establishing its legitimacy. A friend of mine became ordained by the ULC and performed marriage ceremonies within our friendship group. I worked in Modesto during years 1975 through 1979, and was more aware of the Church’s presence then. I thought about connecting with the Church, but was too busy at the time. I have always been interested in ideas relating to life and the spirit and, more recently, the soul. I have read widely and have been attracted to some aspects of Christianity, but more to aspects of Buddhism and The Dao (Tao). In recent years, after having retired from employment in 2002, I have written articles in my online, non-commercial magazine (a ‘blog’), The Pavellas Perspective, some of which articles include writings on philosophical and spiritual matters, such as: Before and After Human Consciousness, or The Voice of God vs. Auditory Hallucinations Attempting to Comprehend Man Jung’s “Answer to Job” Scientism, Secular Humanism, Hubris The “Law of Service” and Other Findings in Hermann Hesse’s Journey to the East Writing about writing and arguing for God—a very difficult book I have other ‘blogs’, one of which is for creative writing. There are some pertinent essays in this, as well, such as on defining ‘reality’: A Few Words. I have no doubt there is a force in the universe greater than man, or of which man is a part. Words tend to limit understanding, as well as to enhance it between persons. Spiritual and soulful matters are often not well served by words, unless perhaps in poetic and musical form. I recently became, again, reminded of this ‘greater power’ upon watching and listening to a performance, recorded on DVD, of Mozart’s Great C minor Mass. The performers include John Eliot Gardiner directing the musicians and singers, and the two magnificent sopranos Barbara Bonney and Anne Sofie von Otter. This is a ramble, I know, but it reflects some of the reasons (and not only ‘reason’ goaded me) for my feeling comfortable in now associating with a church, especially ULC which has no dogma, and whose creed is perfectly stated in my view: Do only that which is right.