Kahlil Gibran wrote, “Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you yet they belong not to you." What does it mean to build families and, ultimately, a world, which grants every child inherent rights and does not treat them as the property of their parents? Tara Adams will explore this idea through her experiences as both a parent of three and a social worker working with families.

The Pandemic has significantly limited our lives in so many ways. But being outside improves our own mental and physical health and makes our Church more welcoming – think of all the wonderful time members have been enjoying being outside – including even Christmas Eve! The post Tending our Garden appeared first on BeyondBelief.

I did pretty good this week and managed to celebrate yet another birthday yesterday. 72 seems like a lot of years, quite a few more than I expected to see when I was young. This year we were able to actually eat out in a restaurant with all of our adult children and then have […]

I’m a serious writer who writes about serious matters, but even I know there’s a need for fun in our lives. And while serious stuff can be fun, magic is fun in and of itself.

A.k.a. “Christmas tree.” The needles are closely packed and mostly grow upwards. Another one whose leaves are liveliest en masse, but I can’t always draw a whole twig’s worth.

Sometimes, when we are filled with joy, it overflows from us as tears. Those moments of most profound joy can look to others like moments of sadness. When have you felt joy so profound that you burst into tears?

Storm Faerywolf showcases the Divine Diversity 2 tarot deck from Joe Phillips, which features representation of a wide variety of ethnicities, sexualities, cultures, and body types. Continue reading Column: Delving into Divine Diversity at The Wild Hunt.

Please join us on Sunday (20 February 2022) at 11:00 AM for “Sanctuary” by Rev. Barbara Jarrell. Please join us in the sanctuary at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 9449 Ellerbe Road, Shreveport LA  71106 if you are able to do so. Our service will also be livestreamed on Facebook Live here if you cannot attend … Continue reading "Online All-Ages Worship (20 February 2022)"

Please join us on Sunday (13 February 2022) at 9:00 AM for our adult religious education class via Zoom. This Sunday’s topic is “Faith and Reason:  Pema Chödrön Talks with Bill Moyers.” For this Sunday (20 February 2022) and next Sunday (27 February 2022), we will watch Part 1 and Part 2 of a Bill … Continue reading "Online Adult Religious Education — 20 February 2022"

We will continue to watch the local COVID numbers.  We feel encouraged by the dropping Omicron COVID case rates. 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. We also want some time to be together and nurture each … Continue reading "Children and Youth Religious Education Updates"

Please join us next Tuesday (22 February 2022) at 12 noon for our weekly Zoom lunch (please note the new day of the week for Zoom lunch). Bring your lunch and meet up with your All Souls friends, have lunch, and just catch up.

Goat on a goat path (Photo: Guilhem Vellut) 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— Because, for a few weeks, the liberal religious, Unitarian community to whom I minister is back in its hall where it met for worship between 1923 and 1927, I’m taking the opportunity to look at some of its liberal roots. One root idea alive at the time was that the Unitarian movement was a “progressive” one which could also be called, quite unproblematically, “a religion of the Open Road” (Alfred Hall in Aspects of Modern Unitarianism , ed. S. H. Mellone, Lindsey Press, ...

As whole human beings, we experience both joys and sorrows. We bring both our joys and sorrows to our communities to be witnessed and appreciated. What are the joys and sorrows you are bearing today?

Will you look at this California red fir? I just about wept looking at it: for the beauty of those curving needles, as graceful as dancers; from the desire to spend lots of time with them and try to put some of that beauty on paper; and from exhaustion. I don’t know why I should […]

Please join us on Saturday (19 February 2022) at 10:30 AM for our weekly meditation group with Larry Androes. This is a sitting Buddhist meditation including a brief introduction to mindfulness meditation, 20 minutes of sitting, and followed by a weekly teaching. The group is free and open to all. For more information, contact Larry … Continue reading "Meditation with Larry Androes (19 February 2022)"

Alan D.D. introduces the legend of Caribay, a Venezuelan figure whose actions brought snow to the peaks of the Andes. Continue reading Column: Caribay, the Venezuelan Pandora at The Wild Hunt.

Alan D. D. nos presenta la leyenda de Caribay, una figura venezolana cuyas acciones trajeron nieve a los picos de los Andes. Continue reading Columna: Caribay, la Pandora Venezolana at The Wild Hunt.

Emptiness is Suchness Masao Abe First published in the Eastern Buddhist & later reprinted in the anthology of Kyoto School reflections, the Buddha Eye, as well as elsewhere. There are reasons for its popularity. What makes this essay so important to me is how it expresses the fullness of the evolution of Buddhist thinking about emptiness, here […]

All too often, the perceived value of an object is based on market demand rather than on the qualities the making of it offers the maker. The photo above is an example of my mother's craft work from when she was a teen. The quality of her work may not have been at the level of work done by her mother or grandmother, but as stated by Otto Salomon, the value of the student's work is not in the work, but in the student. To make such an object imparts qualities to the maker... a fact neglected in modern American education. The making of such objects is part of the process of development of character and intelligence, and as we have become a nation of consumers rather than makers, we have grown more and more out of touch. The piece shown abov...

Native but rare. The “weeping spruce” grows near the treeline in the Siskiyou Mountains, and the droop of its branches protects them from breaking under the heavy snows of these high elevations (3300-7500′).

“Joy can get complicated. Our lives grow convoluted. So often, when joy comes to us, it is accompanied by other emotions that seem to be in conflict but somehow enter our lives all mixed together: joy and sorrow and gratitude and grief and… Yet when I think about joy being complicated, I am not thinking … Continue reading Complicated

Within the past couple of hours, Religion News Service has posted an article titled “Reform movement publishes extensive report on sexual misconduct in its youth programs.” The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) commissioned an outside law firm to investigate sexual misconduct in their movement’s youth programs and summer camps over the past half century. Then … Continue reading "The UUA really needs to do this"

Long-time McHenry County resident and community leader Gloria Van Hof of Crystal Lake has announced her candidacyfor County Board District 2 in the April Democratic Primary election.   Her campaign kick-off event will be held this Sunday, from 1 to 3 pm at Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria, 8515 Redtail Drive, Lakewood. The event will feature food and refreshments, a cash bar, and original original stories by Emmy Award-winning storyteller, Jim May. Campaign donations are welcome and signatureson Gloria’s and other Democrats’ nominating petitions will be collected.   Mask and proof of Covid-19 vaccinationare required. When she was known as Gloria Urch she was my co-host for several years for the Diversity Day Festival on Woodstock Square. I...

The practice of leaving clooties at sacred sites has generated considerable debate amongst Pagans after a site in Scotland was recently cleared of all the items left at the site. Continue reading The great cloutie debate: U.K. Pagans weigh in on the practice at The Wild Hunt.

A copy of my new book arrived today. The release date through Amazon.com and other outlets is planned for March 22, 2022, and we have a book signing planned for Eureka Springs on April 3. Yesterday I did an interview with Foreword Reviews that will be posted online near the time of the book's release. Make, fix and create...

Yesterday in wood shop, students and I finished 10 bluebird houses as part of their outdoor studies class. Six of the bird houses are being sold to supporters of the school, and one or two will be installed on campus for students to tend and observe. Left-overs will be sold at a Clear Spring School event near the end of the school year. Also yesterday, my Rainbow Group (kindergarten) tested our 16 bit building kits. The sixteen bit building kit is one that our small business studies class will be taking by appointment to demonstrate to big business giant Walmart next week. While many woodworking kits designed by adults lack the opportunity for child creativity to emerge, the sixteen bit kits each contain 16 blocks of wood, a glue stick a...

  “The current child care market fails families, children, and businesses. Parents are often unable to find a child care program with an open spot for their infant or toddler. If there are available options, they typically are not affordable. Infant child care costs families an average of $11,000 per year and is more than the price of public college in 33 states.” — Center for American Progress     America lacks sufficient child care, and the care that does read more... The post Action Alert: The Time for Public Child Care is Now appeared first on Promise the Children.

Jeff Milchen An effective tool exists to minimize the chance of illegitimate votes—those who fail to embrace it show professed concerns about voter fraud are false.

      Yesterday my friend Stephen Slottow sent me a social media posting by Tony Head. I loved it. And I wrote to Tony asking for permission to repost it on my blog. He said yes, but also pointed out all he did was put the three pieces together, and he was sure others […]

Some people are telling others they must “hear a call” before they can be involved with anything Pagan. Such calls were uncommon in ancient times and they’re not the norm today. Those who promote these ideas are harming others and our spiritual movements.

As the name suggests, this species is not native to California or anywhere in the United States. It is commonly cultivated here, but doesn’t live nearly as long as it does in Europe, where it can live to be 300 years old. These trees thrive at higher altitudes, and one variety that grows in the […]

“With joy we claim the growing light, advancing thought, and widening view, the larger freedom clearer sight, which from the old unfold the new … ” -Samuel Longfellow As each day becomes longer with growing light, what joys are you better able to see?

Sunday, February 20 Widening Our UU Circle An Online Worship Service with Rev. Alice Anacheka-Nasemann   The work of drawing circles which bring others in is sacred work that is rooted deeply in our Unitarian Universalist theology. But sometimes our circles of inclusion have unintentional barriers. Join us this Sunday, February 27, as Rev. Alice reflects   [ … ] The post Sunday, February 20 ~ Widening Our UU Circle ~ 10:30 a.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

COVID concerns from employees at an Ann Arbor bookstore and institution end bitterly as the store also announces closure. Continue reading Employees dispute with Michigan bookstore ends on bitter note at The Wild Hunt.

By Jonathan Rosenblum | It’s time for an all-labor national day of action to defend Starbucks workers. The Starbucks baristas, REI retail workers, Amazon warehouse workers, striking Warrior Met mineworkers and concrete truck drivers, along with other workers bravely organizing and fighting back, are at the forefront of resisting unbridled corporate greed in this new Gilded Age. But they won’t succeed if the fights are limited by region or industry.

Tania Márquez Every time I find the sacred unexpectedly, I am filled with awe and surprise. Continue reading "The Unexpected Sacredness of Things"

Our annual celebration known as 30 Days of Love has finished. This beloved tradition, which runs approximately from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January through Valentine’s Day in February, is an opportunity for us to collectively nurture our spirits, deepen our understanding of our shared faith, and take action on our values for collective liberation.  Whether you joined in every event or haven’t heard of 30 Days of Love yet, we want to lift up some of the amazing gifts generated by our contributors and invite you to continue bringing love and justice to our world. The materials are free for your continued use, individually or in your congregations, and we invite you to share them widely in your community.  While each o...

  In my view there are two great American original religions. One is the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints, perhaps better known as the Mormons. The other is New Thought. While people who write about New Thought give it a hundred mothers and fathers, I think we can actually start with Phineas Quimby […]

Trying to draw fast but not messily. One out of two . . .

Youth I once worked with used to put in their covenant that no one was allowed to “yuck” another person’s “yum,” meaning that people should be allowed things that bring them pleasure and joy without others judging them for it. I was recently reminded of this phrase when people started getting bent out of shape … Continue reading Don’t Yuck My Yum

The Anti-Racism Team’s monthly Book Group explores works by writers who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC). UUSS member Ellie von Wellsheim will fascilitate a discussion of the book The Seed Keeper, by Diane Wilson, on Monday, February 21, at 6:30 pm. For more information, ... read more . The post The Seed Keeper, by Diane Wilson appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

The conclusion of a two part series that explores the ancient history of Olympia and the roots of the modern Olympic Games. Continue reading The Olympics: an ancient festival, Part II at The Wild Hunt.

Tuesday Greetings, We hope this finds you well, wherever you are reading this from. And we know that not everyone is doing well. Things have been hard for a long time. Nothing is the same as it was and there is no ‘normal’ to go back ... read more . The post Co-Ministers’ Colloquy – Feb. 15th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Upcoming RE Classes: K-6 EXPERIENCES WITH THE WEB OF LIFE: These nature lovers will meet again Sunday morning, 2/20, from 9:30-10:15. Please have your Children keep an eye out for animal tracks in the snow. We’d love to hear about what they find on Sunday morning! Some dates to keep ... read more . The post RE This Week – Feb. 15th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Immigrant support project is making a real-life difference for families.

      As I age I sometimes find myself caught by the terrible beauty of our lives. How sweet it is to be alive. And how awful life can be The Japanese have a phrase, mysterious karma, for how things come to be. Karma has a mechanistic quality in our common English usage, you […]

Bruce Knotts Human rights defenders—especially women and LGBTQ+ people—can suffer harsh consequences in their home countries for working with the United Nations.

The first authenticated photo of Abraham Lincoln as a Springfield Lawyer in 1847, Note —Yesterday in the first entry in this blog series we noted the removal and vandalism of statues of Abraham Lincoln, charges that he was a racist and white supremist and traced his background and life from his log cabin birth through his formative years in New Salem, Illinois where he established himself as a man of local consequence.   Today, we trace his steady climb as a lawyer and politician. In 1834 Abraham Lincoln was elected to the legislature and served four terms as a Whig gaining Prominence as one of the Long Nine who brokered the move of the Illinois capitol to near-by Springfield .   He championed construction of the Illinois and Michiga...

Trying to explain Paganism to those who judge every religion by Christian standards is difficult. But when someone is genuinely curious, we can help them understand religion is bigger than they think, and that Paganism can stand on its own merits.

[Carpenter Shih said of the enormous oak in the village of Crooked Shaft]: “It’s a worthless tree! Make boats out of it and they’d sink; make coffins and they’d rot in no time; make vessels and they’d break at once. Use it for doors and it would sweat sap like pine; use it for posts […]

“Pleasure heals the places where our hearts and spirit get wounded. Pleasure reminds us that even in the dark, we are alive. Pleasure is a medicine for the suffering that is absolutely promised in life… Pleasure is the point. Feeling good is not frivolous, it is freedom.’ -adrienne maree brown What do you find pleasurable? … Continue reading Pleasure

In this week's Pagan Community Notes, a re-cap of the February 14 meaning, TN pastor continues witch rant, community announcements, and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of February 14, 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

By Nancy Rubin Stuart | Everyone knows Benjamin Franklin was a scientist, an inventor, and a diplomat, but did you know he also had the makings of a great romance advice columnist? The founding father was well suited to that job because of his wide experience with women. That may explain why he penned a letter in 1745 to a single man about the best way to sate his sexual impulses outside marriage. Ben’s advice? Sleep with an older woman instead of a young one.

Spring is just around the corner , and with it warmer weather, longer days, and perhaps most welcome of all, signs that we are at long last approaching an almost-normal existence again! At their most recent meeting our Executive Board voted to resume in-person services beginning Sunday, March 6.  Covid Protocols will remain in place —   [ … ] The post ** RETURNING TO IN-PERSON SERVICE ** Sunday, March 6 ** appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

I’m excited to announce that, with Sade Perkins, I’ll be a Crossroads Project Fellow for 2022-2023 for a project we’re doing on “Religion in Houston’s Pan-African Community.” We’ll be facilitating a series of public conversations and oral histories with community elders about the relationship between their justice work and religious beliefs and spiritual practices. Some […]

The Emancipation monument removed from Boston.   Note — It’s already Valentine’s Day and I have still not finished a post intended for Lincoln’s Birthday.  It is one of those that just got away from me as I explored the topic.  So I am breaking it up into sections and it will run for at least the next three days. Although buried in Christmas excitement and rising Coronavirus Omicron dreadthe removal of an iconic monument to Emancipation was removedfrom its prominent location in Boston by the city shocked many, offended some, and caused waves of hypocritical hysteriaacross the racist right wing media echo chamber.  The statue depicting a standingAbraham Lincoln and an unchained former slave was a copy of one by sculptor Thomas...

    I awoke this morning thinking that line: You are not it, but in truth it is you. My dream mind captured a line within the Jewel Mirror Samadhi (Chinese: 寶鏡三昧歌; pinyin: Bǎojìng sānmèi gē; Wade-Giles: Pao-ching San-mei-ke; Japanese: Hōkyō Zammai) The poem is commonly attributed to Dongshan Liangjie, a 9th century Chan master and founder of the Caodong (Soto in Japanese) school. […]

Loving relationships, of all sorts, should be a source of joy. Healthy loving relationships are respectful, non-coercive, based in honesty and trust, and equal in power. How have you found joy in loving relationships with others?

Another greatly magnified cross-section caught my eye, so I promised myself I would draw it fast and finish it tonight. Skipping over detail and still capturing the feel of a thing can be a tough challenge for me.

Weekend Editor Eric O. Scott considers the recent successful injunction against a Biden administration executive order because of various states' objection to the "social cost of carbon." Continue reading Editorial: In climate policy, the global interest is the national interest at The Wild Hunt.

This was the last set of stairs in a 8 mile (1315 elevation) hike we did on Friday. The views were worth it, but the stairs were a killer. Luckily there was a bench on the top where we ate lunch. And, yes, I had my baggy of potato chips. Perspective is a tricky thing. […]

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we have begun to broadcast a livestream video of our Sunday morning worship services. This worship video will be available live and in recorded formats. For our livestream video of our worship services, we are using Facebook Live.  One does not have to log into Facebook … Continue reading "6 February 2022 Worship Livestreaming Video"

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we have begun to broadcast a livestream video of our Sunday morning worship services. This worship video will be available live and in recorded formats. For our livestream video of our worship services, we are using Facebook Live.  One does not have to log into Facebook … Continue reading "30 January 2022 Worship Livestreaming Video"

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we have begun to broadcast a livestream video of our Sunday morning worship services. This worship video will be available live and in recorded formats. For our livestream video of our worship services, we are using Facebook Live.  One does not have to log into Facebook … Continue reading "23 January 2022 Worship Livestreaming Video"

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we have begun to broadcast a livestream video of our Sunday morning worship services. This worship video will be available live and in recorded formats. For our livestream video of our worship services, we are using Facebook Live.  One does not have to log into Facebook … Continue reading "16 January 2022 Worship Livestreaming Video"

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we have begun to broadcast a livestream video of our Sunday morning worship services. This worship video will be available live and in recorded formats. For our livestream video of our worship services, we are using Facebook Live.  One does not have to log into Facebook … Continue reading "9 January 2022 Worship Livestreaming Video"

On Friday I had  an interesting conversation with professor Bart Kahr, from NYU who is a crystallographer and an enthusiast for Froebel's Kindergarten. I had wanted to contact Dr. Kahr because of comments he'd made about his son's first day of school, in the Kindergarten Documentary Film Series. As Dr. Kahr described, he took his son to the bus after having spent years in which he had kept his son constantly in sight. He watched his son climb onto the bus and noted that upon delivering his own precious son to the state, he didn't even get a receipt. His comments so perfectly mirror what all parents feel, and perhaps might help us to understand the angst that so many parents feel about education. Are loving parents ever fully ready to si...

Sometimes the moments where we feel real connection to the "something bigger" are few and far between and we want to guard them jealously. But trouble lies ahead when we become hoarders of the spirit.

      Absalom was born into slavery in Delaware in 1746. When he was sixteen he was separated from his mother and siblings and accompanied his owner to Philadelphia. He was allowed an education and had a degree of independence. He married, the service officiated at by the local Anglican priest. (Reverend Jacob Duché […]

Occasionally, Heinrich Heine has been right. Those who burned books ended up burning people. We need not fear these people because they do not have the power to burn others, at least not in this country. We just need to make sure they never get it.

Joy is an anthem, a song–and a wish for others  “Joy Joy Joy!  Then may your heart be filled with joy!”  and “Joy to the World.” What is the music of your joy (actual or metaphorical)?

“Am I hurting you?” he asks, tapping the base of his glass against the bar for emphasis. “Have I ever been a part of anything that wasn’t good for you, in the long run?” He waits, watching the answer on my face, and nods. “Then what’s the problem?” Continue reading Column: All We Know of One Another are the Stories We Tell Together at The Wild Hunt.

Please join us on Sunday (13 February 2022) at 11:00 AM for “The Great Unfolding” by Rev. Barbara Jarrell. Rev. Barbara is in the pulpit this Sunday — we will have online-only worship for just one more Sunday. Our service will be livestreamed on Facebook Live here. The number of new COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations … Continue reading "Online All-Ages Worship (13 February 2022)"

Please join us on Sunday (13 February 2022) at 9:00 AM for our adult religious education class via Zoom. This Sunday’s topic is “Thich Nhat Hanh: Dealing with Strong Emotions.” Before we move on to a new book discussion or classroom series, we want to take some time to honor the memory and legacy of … Continue reading "Online Adult Religious Education — 13 February 2022"

Please join us on Sunday (20 February 2022) at 3:00 PM for “World Religion Day Shreveport – Bossier City Back to Basics:  My Faith 101″ Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this event will be an online live streaming video panel discussion. For 20 years, Shreveport and Bossier City has been home to a multi-faith observance … Continue reading "World Religion Day Shreveport-Bossier City — Back to Basics (20 February 2022)"

We will continue to watch the local COVID numbers.  We feel encouraged by the dropping Omicron COVID case rates. 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. We also want some time to be together and nurture each … Continue reading "Children and Youth Religious Education Updates"

Please join us next Tuesday (15 February 2022) at 12 noon for our weekly Zoom lunch (please note the new day of the week for Zoom lunch). Bring your lunch and meet up with your All Souls friends, have lunch, and just catch up.

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— Echoing and expanding upon some words by Jesus (Matthew 7:16), one of our own twentieth-century theologians, James Luther Adams (1901-1994), wrote: In this church, we accept the truth: By their fruits shall ye know them; but we also accept the truth: By their roots shall ye know them. Where there are no roots, there will be no fruit. But, whenever a minister of religion like me finds occasion to reference roots it can all often signal that they are about to make a “fundamentalist” turn. As most of you will know, wheneve...

    The immortal Charles Darwin was born on this day, the 12th of February, in 1809. Me, I mark it out as a time to pause and reflect on many things. As do many others. His birthday has been observed as something special pretty much since his death in 1882. In 1909 on the […]

Playing with SketchbookX. One leaf, four lives.

When I was going through a severe bout of depression, I couldn’t feel any joy in my life. I had a wonderful life – a husband and two kids who loved me, a safe place to shelter, food to eat, a supportive and loving UU community. Intellectually, I knew all that, but knowing I should … Continue reading Depression

Please join us on Saturday (12 February 2022) from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM for our monthly building and grounds work day. There are tasks inside and out — as weather permits — for all ages and abilities. Wear your mask and stay safely distanced from each other as you work together to spruce up … Continue reading "Building and Grounds Work Day (12 February 2022)"

Please join us on Saturday (12 February 2022) at 10:30 AM for our weekly meditation group with Larry Androes. This is a sitting Buddhist meditation including a brief introduction to mindfulness meditation, 20 minutes of sitting, and followed by a weekly teaching. The group is free and open to all. For more information, contact Larry … Continue reading "Meditation with Larry Androes (12 February 2022)"

Tonight I feel grateful to participate in the virtual opening ceremony for the Healing Turtle Island gathering. Songs, prayers in Indigenous languages, stories of grief, woundedness, devastating loss, and yet, gratitude. How do we bring healing, bring back balance in our relationships, with each other, with the earth, with spirit? This weekend will be filled […]

The launch and deployment of the JWST has been in the making for over a decade. TWH spoke with Dr Scott Rohrbach, a JWST ISIM Optical Systems Engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center about the project. Continue reading The magic of the James Webb Space Telescope at The Wild Hunt.

Susan Lawrence VIDEO | Zach Norris, the author of this year's UU common read, challenges our notions of safety, promoting a culture of care.

  Note:   Interest in the long life of labor agitator and anarchist Lucy Parsons has been rising for some time as the labor movement has begun re-embracing its radical roots and during the spontaneous mass actions around the country represented by the Occupy Movement a few years ago.   Despite her purposefully obscured racial identity, she has also inspired Black women of the Black Lives Matters movement.   A 2017 biography, Goddess of Anarchy: The Life and Times of Lucy Parsons, American Radical by Jacqueline Jones ramped that interest even higher.   The book, based on new research and discoveries, challenged the commonly accepted story of her origins with mixed Mexican, Native American, and mulatto Texas roots and identified her a...

      The Anglican liturgical calendar marks out today, the 11th of February as a feast for the seventh century poet Caedmon. Poets are, after all the bards of the spirit. And many deserve to be celebrated as saints. And, here we get one… Caedmon is the earliest English poet that we can name. […]

We have moved along to the spruces. They are distinguished in part by having needles that grow singly, instead of in the bunches of 2-5 typical of pines, and each needle emerges from a small, long-lasting bump on the twig. See how much I’m learning already? I could not have said what distinguishes spruce from […]