“Because we live with mystery, we trust that which is deeper than we know—which touches our hearts—which steadies us and rekindles our spirits—which, finally, in faith, may be named the love that has laid hold upon us, and will not let us go.” -George Kimmich Beach What will your faith not let go of today? … Continue reading Faith

In this week's Pagan Community Notes, Happy Kwanzaa! A new documentary about Heartland Pagan Festival, an update on Scottish Parliament's exoneration of witches, and more news! Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of December 27, 2021 at The Wild Hunt.

      Today, the 27th of December the Roman and Anglican churches mark out as a feast for John the disciple of Jesus, sometimes called the Apostle, sometimes the Evangelist, sometimes the Beloved. The Orthodox celebrate his life in September. I cannot think of him without thinking of John the Revelator… As with all […]

                                                       The Holly and the Ivy sung by Annie Lennox. Today we feature one of the oldest English carols , The Holly and the Ivy.   Its origins are shroudedin the mist of time.   Pagan greenery was anointed with Christian symbolism. The most familiar melody of several that have been set to the is very old and resembles the songs of the Tudor era 1485–1602 which is why it is a favorite of Madrigal Singers . The earliest surviving mention of the song in print occurred in the early 19th Century when collecting folk music became fashionable.  The earliest recorded version of the lyrics was in a broadside published by H. Wadsworth in Birmingham between 1814 and ...

“May we know once again that we are not isolated beings but connected, in mystery and miracle, to the universe, to… community and to each other.” -Anonymous What connections do you feel today? How do you remind yourself that you are not isolated?

    THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS A Meditation on What Comes Next James Ishmael Ford Here we are. The day after Christmas. With a cup of coffee in hand I turned to the Associated Press newsfeed. The lead story this morning was that Desmond Tutu, retired Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, hero of the anti-apartheid […]

Antonio Pagliarulo describes how his Christmas even changed from his Italian family ritual for removing the evil eye. Continue reading Old-World Magic Transformed My Christmas Eve at The Wild Hunt.

Don’t get me wrong, but sometimes I feel like a grinch. The holidays are fun, but also hard. Expectations often exceed the reality, but there are small miracles that happen too. We had fun, good times, and some chaos that was stressful. I ate and drank more than I should have. As a result, I […]

Pcb21, CC BY-SA 3.0Studies of anti-racism training find it doesn’t work or makes racism worse. The reason seems counter-intuitive to anti-racists: Teaching people to think more about race can make them more racist. But the reason is clear if you remember this old observation:“Try to pose for yourself this task: not to think of a polar bear, and you will see that the cursed thing will come to mind

A repeat of a video sermon from 12/6/2020 - Rev. John shares some thoughts on the importance of pausing amidst the daily rush.  

                                                       The Wren in the Furze by the Chieftains. Today is the second day of the 12 Days of Christmas, a day with multiple personalities as we will see.  The Brits and the residentsof other former pink blotches on Queen Victoria’s globe like many Americans usually spend today, Boxing Day, storming the malls and shops on what is the busiest retail sales day of the year. Disgruntledgift recipients hit the refund and exchange desks while others spend the gift cards and even old fashion cash.   But unlike Yanks they do it on an official National Holiday as a paid day off.  Officially December 26 is just another Bank Holiday.  But Boxing Day is a treasured t...

While I’ve come to accept that sometimes the Pagan community just doesn’t care about something as much as I do, there are times when I find myself screaming “this is important! Why are you not reading this?!”

The first day of the African-American holiday of Kwanzaa asks people to reflect on the principle of Umoja, or unity. Who do you feel unity with? Reflect on what is keeping you from feeling greater unity with all of humanity.

Please join us on Sunday (26 December 2021) at 11:00 AM for ‘A 2022 Poetry Survival Kit:  Poems to Get You Through the Year” with Rev. Barbara Jarrell, Susan Caldwell (All Souls Director of Religious Education), and poetry contributions from our members and friends. Our service will be livestreamed on Facebook Live here. For this … Continue reading "Online All-Ages Worship (26 December 2021)"

For this Sunday (26 December 2021) and next Sunday (2 January 2022), our adult religious education class is taking a holiday break. On 9 January 2022, we will resume our discussion of the podcast episodes Learning How to See with Rev. Brian McLaren, Father Richard Rohr, and Rev. Jacqui Lewis. They are discussing the 13 … Continue reading "No Online Adult Religious Education on 26 December 2021 and 2 January 2022 — Class Resumes 9 January 2022"

We will continue to watch the local COVID numbers.  We feel encouraged by the cooling weather and the possibility of comfortable outdoor activities. We are not resuming regular classes for children and youth at this time because our classrooms are too small to be safe for unvaccinated children, and because we want some time to … Continue reading "Children and Youth Religious Education Updates"

Please join us next Wednesday (29 December 2021) at 12 noon for our weekly Zoom lunch. Bring your lunch and meet up with your All Souls friends, have lunch, and just catch up.

In a special Yuletide offering, Karl Seigfried addresses the god Odin, giving thanks for his gifts at Midwinter. Continue reading Column: To Odin at Midwinter at The Wild Hunt.

This morning, I went for a walk up in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I was expecting showers, and forecast warned me there might even be thunderstorms. But I was not expecting hail. In places, the tiny hailstones covered the ground, looking so much like snow that I decided it was a white Christmas — just … Continue reading "White Christmas"

    I see how I wrote a report for Christmas 2017. A sort of Christmas letter. It seems a good time to add an update. Overdue even, perhaps. Jan & I continue to live in Long Beach, California. Christmas Eve began with a heavy rain storm. Something good considering we’ve been in drought conditions […]

                                                                      I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day sung by Johnny Cash.   This carol is my own personal favorite.   I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day is unusual in that there is no referenceto the Christ child , manger , Holy Family , shepherds, Magi , or even the Herald Angels .   Instead, if focuses on the message of those angels amid the ghastly carnage of war.   It was written not by famed Unitarian hymnist Samuel Longfellow, but by his brother Henry Wadsworth Longfellow , then America’s most honored and adored poet who had created national epics like The Courtship of Miles Standish , The Song of Hiawatha , and Evangeline as well as...

One of the things that must happen as we get together to sing in harmony with each other is to settle on the perfect pitch. And when someone sings a solo in the choir, they do not perform alone. And so it is with a revolution.  There are times when we take turns at the lead, letting our own voices rise and fall in pitch and in volume, and there are times when we hold back, taking a breath. I want to introduce you to a branch of the choir, led by soloist Joe Youcha, who in the spirit of a great choir does not sing alone. The organization he founded, Teaching with Small Boats Alliance, is a good one. I made a small donation today because I believe they, by building small wooden boats with kids, offer many students a chance to actually lea...

                                                                        Joy to the World by Whitney Houston and the Georgia Mass Choir. Note —Christmas Day is good for two great carols. Joy to the World is one of the most exuberant of announcement carols and is a perineal favorite for both choir performance and congregational singing at Christmas services .   Yet it is based on two Old Testament verses said to foretell the coming of the Messiah— Psalm 98, 96:11-12 and Genesis 3:17-18—but like other popular carols it is sung as if it is an announcement of the birth of Christ by angels on high.                          English Dissenter and hymnist Isaac Watts published Joy t...

In the Bible the term mystery is often used.  It denotes a revealing of something that was unknown, unseen, or hidden. Sometimes the mystery is associated with Christ, who is for many the great community maker.  I wonder how he intentionally took people from different stations in life and created community. I wonder whether successfully … Continue reading The Mystery of Christ

Possum asks Dr. Sharpie about the meaning of Christmas. Then Possum asks some of his other housemates, and Muds finally helps him find the meaning of Christmas. As usual, full text is below the fold. Possum: Hey Sharpie, I’ve been thinking about Christmas. Sharpie: Mmm? Possum: I like the Christmas story and everything. But what’s … Continue reading "What’s the meaning of Christmas?"

The meditation group led by Larry Androes will not be meeting on Christmas (Saturday, 25 December 2021) or New Years Day (Saturday, 1 January 2022). This meditation group will resume meeting on Saturday, 8 January 2022. This group is a sitting Buddhist meditation including a brief introduction to mindfulness meditation, 20 minutes of sitting, and … Continue reading "No Meditation Group on 25 December 2021 or 1 January 2022 — Meditation Resumes 8 January 2022"

Join us once again for the reading of the Christmas story, with carols and candles.

I looked around, trying to find the chimes, and saw a woman walking towards me from the east. Tall and graceful, she carried a book in the bend of her arm. She wore a long, flowing gown of pale green, pale yellow, and white. The chiming grew louder as she drew near, but the sound remained pleasing. As she passed by, I asked, "Do you hear that sound?" She laughed in a way that echoed the chimes and answered, "The question is: do you?" Continue reading Column: Elemental Air at The Wild Hunt.

(Click on this link to hear a recorded version of the following piece) —o0o— In 1955, on the eve of his retirement from Union Theological Seminary in New York, the Christian existentialist philosopher and Lutheran Protestant theologian, Paul Tillich (1886–1965), gave an influential sermon called “The New Being.” Not surprisingly, given his Christian upbringing and role, Tillich thought the New Being — or what he also called a New Reality or New Creation — was “certainly manifest in Jesus who is called the Christ.”  But for Tillich — who was fully open to dialogue with other religious traditions and non-Christian philosophies — the manifestation of the New Being was not something confined to the particular, Christi...

John Englart (Takver), CC BY 2.0When Race and Economic Opportunity in the United States came out in 2018, many writers wrote about how racially unequal the US still is and ignored the promising findings: There are places in the US that show no signs of racism. We can apply the lessons from them to end racism in the entire US.The researchers, Raj Chetty, Nathaniel Hendren, Maggie R. Jones, and

                                                                      Stille Nacht performed by the  Dresdner Kreuzchor [ Choir]. Note —The second of a Christmas Eve two-fer! By far the most beloved and sung of all Western Christmas carols is Silent Night.   It will be sung tonight at Catholic midnight masses, candlelight services like the Tree of Life UU Congregation’s virtual one on Zoom for the second year in a row , by hardy carolers in neighborhood streets, in many versions on Holiday radio, and in family roomsaround the Christmas tree. Two hundred and three years ago Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht was first performed at St. Nicholas parish church in the village Oberndorf on the Salzach R...

      Last year I gathered a couple of my favorite Christmas poems together. They’re still my favorites. As are those illustrations from Everett Patterson and Fritz Eichenberg. The first of the poems is by the mid twentieth century Unitarian Universalist minister Sophia Lyon Fahs. For so the children comeAnd so they have been […]

A friend, Knud in Stavanger sent these words from Norwegian poet/lumberjack Hans Børli. ”A good/kind word : a seed. – In a hundred years – birds shall build their nests – in whistling wide branches. – God’s oaks – grow slowly on earth…” May these gentle words serve as my season's greetings to you. In a world where whole forests in the Southeastern US are destroyed and marketed as green energy to feed power plants in Europe, and too many of us are consumed and corrupted by the short term, may we think in longer terms (lengre sikt). May we plant seeds that grow into finer things that nourish our families in more meaningful ways. May we think of the days a hundred years hence in which birds nest in our branches. The image...

                                                       It Came Upon a Midnight Clear sung by Mahalia Jackson.   Note—Both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day deserve bonus two-fer entries! In churches around the world this evening announcement carols will be central to the services.    Many are bold and glorious whether sung by massed choirs or by congregations who know them by heart.   Adeste Fideles ( O Come All Ye Faithful ) and the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah are two of the grander examples.   Although there are plenty of others in Christmas song books , my personal favorite is much more modest. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear is one of the oldest and most beloved of American Christmas ...

On the eve of Christmas, Christians around the world over put themselves in a space of possibility. The birth of the infant Jesus is heralded as the birth of new possibilities into the world. What would you do if only it were possible?

Because I am working on a writing project I have become obsessed with a small factoid that is completely unrelated to the subject of my writing. Specifically where does the term “Christ Consciousness” come from? I kind of assumed it came from Theosophy. And it might, although a search of pdfs of Madam Blavatsky’s two […]

According to Pew Research Center, the number of U.S. adult Christians is decreasing, a trend observed in other research. Continue reading Studies show US Christians decreasing in number at The Wild Hunt.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas sung my Judy Garland to Margaret O'Brien in  Meet Me in St.Louis . We are closing in on the big day and haven’t honored some of the greatest secular songs from the Golden Age of American Christmas Music.  In particular we have been remiss in failing to share the greatest performance of a modern Holidaysong ever.  Period. No arguments.  The crown goes to Judy Garland singing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas to Margaret O’Brien in the 1944 film classic Meet Me in St. Louis. As the Coronavirus pandemic resurgesand rages yet again, the throat catching melancholy of Garland’s performanceis more resonate than ever. In some ways the role of the second daughter Esther of the comfortably midd...

The baby carried by Mary in the Christian Scripture is more than just a baby. Within her is growing hope for the world. Within her is growing a new way of human relations. What is growing in you?

Peter Kasin, the coordinator of the monthly sea chantey singing from San Francisco Maritime Historical Park, sent out a holiday greeting filled with fish puns. I love fish puns. Even though they give some people a haddock, and other people carp about them, and still others say that puns are crappie — I love fish … Continue reading "Fishy carols"

As we approach the end of a challenging year, we reflect on some of the ways our advocates have worked to advance human rights around the world.

A round-up of archeological finds from ancient pagan sites in Cyprus and eastward to the Persian Gulf. Continue reading Finds from the ancient Mediterranean and Eastward at The Wild Hunt.

Prof.lumacorno, CC BY-SA 4.0Medium’s tags make it easy to know what people are happy to talk about. The tag for racism has been used 65,000 times, and race has been used 25,000 times, but the tag for class has only been used 3,900 times, and classism has been used less than 400 times. On Medium, writers are more than six times willing to talk about race than class, and 170 times more willing to

      I’m a life long student of the koan way. It has given me the contours of the formal part of my interior life. And, I remain endlessly grateful. I’m also interested in how we might find koans outside of the formal canon, the received cases enshrined in the great anthologies and within […]

Laura Shay May we continue to find ways to connect while keeping safe this holiday season. Continue reading "A Village of Strangers"

My new book, "The Wisdom of our Hands" has been reviewed and recommended by Booklist, a review service maintained by the American Library Association as an aid to librarians selecting books for their collections.  https://www.booklistonline.com They say in part, "This book will appeal to readers who wish to learn more about woodworking and crafting, but from a broader perspective, anyone looking for a way to reconnect with the Earth would do well to read Stowe's wisdom."  The full review will go live on their website on January 13, 2022. Foreword Reviews will review the Wisdom of Our Hands in their March/April print magazine. Forewordreviews.com Make, fix and create...

                                                                        Bessie Smith-- At the Christmas Ball . Tired of sweet , sentimental , silly , juvenile , or holy holiday music ?   Yearn for something different , grittier , and more raucous ?   We’ve got just the pill for what ails you courtesy of Bessie Smith who as always was ready to party down .   At the Christmas Ball may be the first blues Christmas track ever laid down.   The Empress of the Blues was just 31 years old and two years into her tenure on Columbia Records on November 18, 1925 when she cut a recording in New York City. Bessie Smith in flapper finery in the mid-1920's. She was already the most popular female singer o...

“Let parents sense and share with their children the glory and mystery of everyday things.” -Sophia Lyon Fahs How can you share a sense of wonder with someone else today?

Would you like to have your words or art woven through worship and other UUSS activities? Using the theme, “Connected Through Love, We Nurture the Flame,” as inspiration, you are invited to write a poem, chalice lighting, chalice flame releasing, prayer, meditation, create visual art, ... read more . The post Calling all Poets, Writers, and Artists! appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Montclair Film, CC BY 2.0In How Racism Relies on Arbitrary Hierarchies, Ibram X. Kendi does what the smartest identitarians do: he mixes interesting facts with mistaken beliefs. The most mistaken is this:“It is one of the ironies of antiracism that we must identify racially in order to identify the racial privileges and dangers of being in our bodies.” —Ibram X. KendiThat comes from his belief

We have been appreciating the incredible array of light and darkness this week… the colors of the sunrises and sunsets, the bright glow of the full moon, the grey-white skies when it is overcast, and the long nights as Winter begins. With all this, there ... read more . The post Co-Ministers’ Colloquy – Dec. 21st appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

TONIGHT — CHILDREN’S WINTER SOLSTICE CELEBRATION! UUSS youngin’s and their families are invited to join Director of Lifespan Religious Education Robin Ahearn Tuesday evening, 12/21, 6-6:30, for an online Children’s Winter Solstice Celebration! Contact Kristin Cleveland, UUSS Congregational Life Coordinator, for the Zoom link. UPCOMING RE CLASSES: RE ... read more . The post RE This Week – Dec. 21st appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Please join us for a four-part Adult Faith Development class titled: Transcendentalism Then and Now, led by Rev. John Buehrens. Hosted virtually at First Unitarian Rochester and sponsored by the St. Lawrence Chapter of the UU Minister’s Association. Background reading (optional) for the course is Rev. ... read more . The post Transcendentalism: Then and Now appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

The next book the BIPOC reading group has chosen is The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas, which we will discuss on Monday, January 24, at 6:30 pm. If you’d like to read this on your computer, here is a link to a PDF of it:  ... read more . The post Discussion of Angie Thomas’ book The Hate U Give appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

      Do not go gentle into that good night,Old age should burn and rave and close of day;Rage, rage against the dying of the light.Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning theyDo not go gentle into that good night.Good men, the last wave […]

Solstice blessings from The Wild Hunt Continue reading Solstice Blessings from The Wild Hunt at The Wild Hunt.

After the longest night, the shortest day dawns with beauty in the sky, and draws me outside into the cold and colors of morning. Snow is covering the ground at last, which has brightened up these last few dark days. Margy and I are learning to play backgammon for holiday fun during the isolation of […]

When I was a child, I would spend part of my summers visiting with my mother’s family in the mountains of Lebanon. I remember sitting out back of the house we shared with our aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins - drinking tea and playing card games with mismatched decks. Some of my clearest memories are from our nights spent outside, because it was then I noticed things that I hadn’t quite picked up on before. The scent of the jasmine blooming around the front yard. The flicker and flight of the bats that lived in the mountains. The persistent, if not foreboding, sound of mosquitoes on the hunt for a meal around our heads.  There were reflections of life around me that, were it not for the darkness of night, I might never have ...

Our Gods are not divine helicopter parents – I’ve heard one consistent message throughout this whole period: just keep moving. As we close down a difficult 2021 and get ready for an uncertain 2022, I think it’s important to share these words with everyone.

                                                       Yule   by Lisa Thiel. In the United States the exact moment of the Winter Solstice as defined by scientists—when the Sun is shining farthest to the south directly over the Tropic of Capricorn—occurs at 9:59 am Central Standard Time today.   You can figure out its arrival in your neck of the woods . The fact is that last night was the longest night of the year and today the sky will begin to grow light earlier each day. In most pagan traditions around the Northern Hemisphere there were two ways to celebrate the Solstice.   Some lit fires in the darkest night to summon the return of the Sun .   Others gathered at dawn to in some way capture the...

The darkness and closeness to ancestors that this time of year and its rituals bring has always felt like a relationship with mystery to me. Spend some time in healing darkness today.

Our beloved winter tradition returns! Join us for our traditional spiral walk to celebrate solstice and welcome the return of the light. Cocoa and hot cider will be served afterwards.

In this week's Pagan Community Notes: Newgrange, Scottish Parliament to exonerate those accused of witchcraft, Yule goats, and seasonal "news." Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of December 20, 2021 – Yule Edition at The Wild Hunt.

Let us breathe deeply to nourish and light our candles within. Then let us share our gentle glow with others in need of rekindling. The post In the Time of Darkness appeared first on Nature's Sacred Journey.

Friday, December 24, 7:00 pm ·  Candlelight Christmas Eve Service with Acclaimed Harpist, Felice Pomeranz Join us on Zoom to celebrate the spirit of Christmas in a family worship service that honors the life and teachings of Jesus.  Sing your favorite Christmas carols, enjoy beautiful harp music, and experience the beauty and peace of our annual   [ … ] The post Sunday, December 24 ~ Christmas Eve Candlelight Service ~ 7:00 p.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

      I see that Katharina Von Bora, also known as Katharina Luther died on this day, the 20th of December in 1552. She can be thought of as the first clerical wife of the “modern” period. Or, more properly I guess, the most prominent of a new class of person, the ministerial spouse. […]

In the past I've mentioned that joy can provide a means through which we can observe and measure student and school success. I proposed a Beaufort-like scale to observe and measure joy. But joy is not just a happy thing. It fits in balance with effort and manageable frustration. In the last 1970s I had product carts printed (Thanks Jacquie Froelich) to be given along with the sale of my boxes. In the text I noted that frustration was an inevitable part of the process of growth, and that without the balance it provides the moments of joy we find are without context. How much sweeter is success when it arrives through serious effort than when it's delivered without. So schooling is not just a process of passing a child from one happy day t...

To part 1 Early on in A Christmas Carol , when Scrooge has the encounter with Marley's ghost, Scrooge asks the ghost: "Why do spirits walk the earth, and why do they come to me?" Marley replies, "It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellowmen, and travel far and wide; and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death." The moral is clear: we must "walk abroad" among each other. We must "go forth" with our lives and not hole up by our lonesomes. We are given but this one brief lifespan, and we must spend it sharing of ourselves – entering into relationships – being a part of other people’s lives and having them be a part of ours. We must go forth – life c...

To part 2 Charles Dickens was born in 1812. His 210th birthday is coming up in February (get your presents early). He was a Unitarian. In saying that, let me acknowledge that he was baptized and reared in the Church of England and was a nominal Anglican for most of his life. From young adulthood, however, he was averse to evangelical zeal, doctrinal disputation and sectarianism. Nor did he like High Church Anglicanism. He would probably have first come into contact with Unitarianism while working as a reporter, which job he had from age 17 into his 20s. His reporting work brought him into association with contributers to radical journals such as the Unitarian minister William Johnson Fox, and John Forster, a Unitarian who became a lifelo...

                                             Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer sung by Gene Autry.   The Rankin/Bass stop action animation TV special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer which first aired on CBS Television in 55 years ago in 1964 was just the latest iteration of what then seemed almost like a timeless holiday folk tale.   And it would not be the last.   Rudolph has had more lives than any cat. Versions of the show have been aired annually ever since making it the longest running Christmas TV special in history. Rudolph first saw light as commercial come-on.   One that proved so wildly popular that he took on a life of his own .                          Original author Robert L. ...

“Universal mystery, Guide us away from the desire to Shine light in all the corners. Teach us to embrace the night, For without the darkness, We never see the stars.” -Jennifer Gracen Look at the stars tonight and ponder your connection to the universal mystery.

Christine Slocum The safety I once perceived was because I did not have the complete perspective.

Scrooge famously said: “If I could work my will, every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart!” The omicron strain of COVID-19 is acting like Scrooge. If you go wish your family ‘Merry Christmas’ in … Continue reading "Scrooge would have loved omicron"

Lyonel Perabo reviews the first volume of Odin Helgheim's comics series "Ragnarok," which has just been released in an English translation. Continue reading Review: Ragnarok by Odin Helgheim at The Wild Hunt.

      EPIPHANIES & THEOPHANIES A Meditation on the Way to Christmas James Ishmael Ford 19 December 2021 First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles Text And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their […]

I was cleaning in the wood shop today and ran across a bit of memorabilia from about 1980. At the time I was making display cases for various shops around town, many of which are still in use. I thought briefly of branding them as "Stowe Cases" and attempting to market them outside of town. Not all ideas are good ones, and to market them outside of town would have taken me away from crafting other things.  The brass plaque was intended to be a branding device, setting my own work apart from others on the market and it was engraved by Jim MaGee, whose shop in downtown Eureka Springs has a number of display cases I made. Make, fix and create...

Sometimes there is water on the trail. Sometimes there is mud, a creek to cross, or a fallen tree to climb over. Especially after a storm, it is hard to predict what you might find. Wear waterproof boots and dress warmly. On a loop hike, it is hard to turn around, so you just need […]

Rev. John shares a new short story for the holidays.

                                                       O Come, O Come Emmanuel sung by Enya with Latin lyrics. Today is the Fourth and Final Sunday of Advent and time to share the most famous of all Advent hymns, O Come, O Come Emmanuel which also has some of the oldest roots.   As a boy it always perplexed me—who the hell was this Emmanuel, what did he have to do with Christmas, and how did Israel become involved? It turns out that Emmanuel—from Hebrew meaning “God is With Us” is mentioned almost in passing in the Old Testament book of Book of Isaiah in connection with prophecies connected to a war between the Kingdom of Judea and an Assyrian Empire with it’s vessel the Kingdom of Israel in 73...

Sometimes we experience meaning. Sometimes we discover it, perhaps in places we never thought to look. And other times we create meaning as an act of will.

The closed door is a mystery. Until it is opened we do not know what exists on the other side. What doorways–real or metaphorical–can you open today?

Please join us on Sunday (19 December 2021) at 11:00 AM for Peace on Earth with Susan Caldwell (All Souls Director of Religious Education) with members and friends of All Souls. On this fourth Sunday of Advent, we light the candle for peace in our world, in our homes, and in our hearts (and have … Continue reading "In-Person and Online All-Ages Worship (19 December 2021)"

Please join us for our annual Christmas Eve candlelight worship service on Friday (24 December 2021) at 6:30 PM. We will be live and in-person in the sanctuary and also on Facebook Live for this worship service. We are back in the sanctuary this year with carols, candles, and a reading of the Christmas Story … Continue reading "Christmas Eve Candle Light Service (Friday, 24 December 2021)"

Please join us on Sunday (19 December 2021) at 9:00 AM for our adult religious education class via Zoom. We are discussing episodes of the podcast Learning How to See with Rev. Brian McLaren, Father Richard Rohr, and Rev. Jacqui Lewis. They are discussing the 13 kinds of bias that Rev. Barbara mentioned recently in … Continue reading "Online Adult Religious Education — 19 December 2021"

We will continue to watch the local COVID numbers.  We feel encouraged by the cooling weather and the possibility of comfortable outdoor activities. We are not resuming regular classes for children and youth at this time because our classrooms are too small to be safe for unvaccinated children, and because we want some time to … Continue reading "Children and Youth Religious Education Updates"

Please join us next Wednesday (22 December 2021) at 12 noon for our weekly Zoom lunch. Bring your lunch and meet up with your All Souls friends, have lunch, and just catch up.

"As soon as this month is over, when it's barely midnight and January has only just begun, many Venezuelans take a suitcase and run as far as they can, seeing how far they can travel in the new year. What we didn’t know was that even those of us who did not run would leave the country, and we wouldn’t have a return date." Continue reading Column: December Suitcases at The Wild Hunt.

"...tan pronto como se acabe el mes, cuando empiece enero, apenas sea medianoche, muchos toman una maleta y salen corriendo tan lejos como puedan, esperando poder viajar en ese nuevo año. Lo que no sabíamos era que incluso los que no corrimos saldríamos del país, y no tendríamos una fecha de regreso." Continue reading Columna: Las Maletas de Diciembre at The Wild Hunt.

A climate catastrophe sometimes shows up as the fragile beauty of a wild pansy blooming in mid-December in Maine. I took a photo this morning, before the snow arrived this afternoon, our likely first plowable snow of the season. Very late for us. The unseasonably warm days feel bright and pleasant, nothing dangerous. But I […]

Identitarians think race and gender are the best signs of privilege, so they only mention religion when there’s been a religious hate crime. They don’t realize that just as you must know about Sunni and Shi’a Muslims to understand privilege in Muslim countries, you must know the differences in all religions in multicultural countries. Hearing that someone is white won't tell you if that person is

With indications that Roe v Wade may be overturned, and knowing that abortion and reproductive care have long been inaccessible to many communities, our faith compels us to take action for reproductive rights, health, and justice. Many of you and your congregations are already taking courageous action and speaking prophetically; more are needed in this shared work, now and in the future.  Side With Love and the Unitarian Universalist Ministers’ Association are partnering to support all religious professionals in grounding more deeply in a theology of Reproductive Justice, including providing resources for leading worship. Together, we invite all religious professionals to:  1.) Participate in "Our Calling to Reproductive Justice: A W...

An article in the New Yorker asks, What's so great about the great books?  https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/12/20/whats-so-great-about-great-books-courses-roosevelt-montas-rescuing-socrates  How you feel about that subject might hinge on what you see the purpose of eduction being. Is it to provide a career, or to provide a sense of your own humanity?  My daughter went to Columbia University mentioned in the article and as a freshman and sophomore was required to take the Core Curriculum as were other liberal arts majors. The idea is that all would be required to read and discuss a number of books considered important to our civilization. The Core Curriculum is considered to be a sacred part of the Columbia experience and was to...

Detail of The Holy Family by Andrea Sacchi (1599-1661) A short  “ thought for the day” offered to the Cambridge Unitarian Church as part of the Sunday Service of Mindful   Meditation  (Click on this link to hear a recorded version of the following piece) —o0o— The Oxen (1915) Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) Christmas Eve, and twelve of the clock. “Now they are all on their knees,” An elder said as we sat in a flock By the embers in hearthside ease. We pictured the meek mild creatures where They dwelt in their strawy pen, Nor did it occur to one of us there To doubt they were kneeling then. So fair a fancy few would weave In these years! Yet I feel, If someone said on Christmas Eve, “Come; see the oxen kneel, In the lonely b...

                                                                      The Anniversary Waltz sung by Vera Lynn.   We interrupt the seasonal songs of Winter Holidays Music Festival for a more private celebration if you don’t mind.   Forty years ago, on a below zero December 18, 1981 at Chicago’s St. Francis Xavier Church on the North Side Kathy Brady-Larsen, a young widow, consented to marrybeneath her.   The groom was a scruffy no-account with dim prospects named Patrick Murfin. That summer we had renewed an old acquaintance at Consumer’s Tap on Lincoln Avenue.   We had a nodding acquaintance a decade earlier while I was on the staff of the Chicago Seed and she was a 17 year old Seed str...

      Today, in Tarkastad, Eastern Cape, South Africa, the 18th of December, 1946, Bantu Stephen Biko was born. He would become one of the heroes of the anti apartheid movement, a leader of the Black Consciousness Movement. In 1977 he was arrested and then beaten to death by state security officers. Tributes, images, […]

I realise that for many people who read this blog, the theological tradition within which I have been formed, and which still provides me with my basic philosophical grounding and orientation, is baffling. So, for those interested, here is a brief essay by Ed Simon which offers a brilliant and clear overview of the world that has shaped, and continues to shape, the theological/philosophical reflections I offer you week by week. https://aeon.co/essays/how-to-fulfil-the-need-for-transcendence-after-the-death-of-god