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Happy Holidays. The Cluster Newsletter is taking December 23 and 30 off, and will return on January 6, 2010. Thanks for all your contributions during 2009 and a joyful holiday season to all.

Unlocking Doors. Greg Mortenson, whose success starting schools in the rugged mountain regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan is chronicled in two best selling books, inspired an overflow intergenerational audience last week from throughout San Diego County. “Nothing is more rewarding than making a difference,” he said, but you have to put “your boots on the ground and get your hands dirty.” From the days in the mid-1990s when only former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw answered his appeal for money with a $100 check, to today when he's briefing American generals and senators, Mortenson's message is one of hope. His first best seller Three Cups of Tea was followed by Stones Into Schools.

He drove home his point that education is the key to unlocking doors with two proverbs, one African and one Persian: “If you educate a boy you educate an individual; if you educate a girl you educate a community.” —African; “When it is dark you can see the stars.” —Persian. “The real enemy is ignorance, said Mortenson, whose work with the children and adults of Afghanistan and Pakistan (including the tribal elders) is legendary.

He recounted that his book, Three Cups of Tea, was initially read by General David Petraeus at the urging of his wife and is now required reading for senior military commanders and selected troops, including Special Forces, deploying for Afghanistan. It was Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who observed that in Afghanistan we must listen more, show respect and build relationships.

However, during a Q&A period after the presentation, Mortenson pointed out that during the extensive discussions leading up to President Obama's decision to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, the elders were never consulted. “Listen to the wind,” one of those elders who was Mortenson's mentor and who passed away, said. When you ask mothers what they want, it's very simple: “They don't want their babies to die and they want their children to go to school.”

Mortenson, a Minnesotan who now lives with his wife and two children in Montana near Brokaw, noted the growing interest among young people in this country to do community service and make a difference. “This is a great country not because of our commonality but because of our diversity.”

Mortenson's talk ended about 8:15 a.m. but he graciously stayed until after 11 signing his books. The event was co-sponsored by The Unity Center and Warwick's Books in La Jolla. Among those in the audience was Deanna Kuhn of Palomar UU Fellowship in Vista.

Check out Pennies for Peace and the Little Red Wagon, which Mortenson mentioned during his presentation.

Quotable. “As we glide into the Holiday Season with all of its attendant busyness, may we be ever mindful of keeping our hearts in a holy place and sharing the gift of presence with each other.” —Toni Rogers, President, Summit UU Fellowship in Santee.

Generosity: First Church in Hillcrest contributed $1,295.21 from the Sunday Service on November 28 to A New Path for its work in the justice system and addiction.

Leaky Roof. Palomar UU Fellowship in Vista was putting on a new roof last week between rain storms.

San Diego County UU Bulletin Board. If you want to buy, sell, barter or connect, and it's legal and ethical, e-mail mkruming@aol.com (or copy and paste: mkruming@aol.com).