A Q&A with Margaret Peacock and Erik L. Peterson | Erik started collecting sources from China, including social media posts, in January 2020. Margaret had her own set of documents about how the US government was shaping the narrative surrounding the spread of the disease. And we had all this sitting on our computers. Between the two of us, we were worried (1) that we would lose sources, (2) that we would overlap what we were collecting and make each other’s work redundant, and (3) that we would be too siloed in what sources we located.

    I was talking with a friend and she mentioned a teacher I’ve heard of once or twice. An American who kicked around the spiritual scene, had some sort of awakening, and is now on what some call the “guru circuit.” Second hand what she teachers doesn’t sound off to me. My friend was […]

Fannie Farmer with her famous level cup and student Martha Hayes Ludden.  Farmer is seated due to her partial disability due to a stroke. On January 7, 1896 a book that revolutionized American kitchen and changed the lives of women was published for the first time. The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book was compiled and written by the school’s 41 year old director, Fannie Farmer.   It was comprehensivein scope, and well organized.   Packed with detailed , step-by-step directionsand specific measurements of ingredients, it allowed home cooks—both hired help and homemakers—to create consistent meals that turned out the same every time.   Not only was it an immediate best seller, but Farmer kept it up to date through 21 more editions...

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— Last week, a friend drew my attention to the Harvard University social scientist, Joan Donovan’s “5 Key Principles of Misinformation”. They are as follows:  Information is fast and cheap.  Knowledge is slow and expensive.  Search and social media circumvents social institutions by mixing up information and knowledge.  Everything open will be exploited for fun, politics, and profit.  In an active crisis, there is no real-time knowledge, only real-time information.  This struck me as a helpful list, especially as ...

Today is Holi, the Hindu festival of colors and of spring. In this festival, participants throw colorful powders into the air, signifying the vibrant new life around them and their commitment to a fresh future. What is a way you can let vibrant color into your life today?

Currently, there are approximately 150 anti-transgender bills moving through state legislatures across the country. From banning participation in sports to so-called "bathroom bills," to legislation that criminalizes providing life-saving gender-affirming health care, these bills are deadly for trans and nonbinary people of all ages. Held March 15, 2022, this training featured Sam Ames, Director of Advocacy & Government Affairs for The Trevor Project; Rev. Erin Walter from Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry; and Rev. Lisa Garcia-Sampson from UU Justice Ministry on North Carolina, in addition to Side With Love staff Rev. Ashley Horan, Rev. Michael Crumpler, Rev. Ranwa Hammamy, and Adrian Ballou. Recommended Actions from the tra...

The recent draft of a legally binding international agreement to end plastic waste produced by the Fifth U. N. Environmental Assembly centered on addressing the full lifecycle of plastic as a means to an end. Continue reading UN Environmental Assembly Resolution to End Plastic Pollution at The Wild Hunt.

I have long been interested in the development of Enso Village. If you’re not familiar with it, the San Francisco Zen Center in partnership with Kendal Corp (a Quaker-based nonprofit senior living community developer) has been deeply involved in creating what can be called a new paradigm for aging – a Zen-Inspired Senior Living Community. […]

This vintage St. Patrick's Day greeting card is emblematic of the adoption and popularization of the holiday in the U.S.  In reality the acceptance by Yankee Uncle Sam--presumably Protestant--of Catholic "bog trotters" was far from smooth or cordial.   Note :   For those of you unaware, this is my natal anniversary. I Turn 73 today.   Bet you wondered how I got the name.   Anyway, I am rerunning a version of an oft run classic. Meanwhile to the Irish and wan-a-be-Irish, enjoy the day.   Have fun but try not to live down to some unfortunate stereotypes.    And for Christ’s sake don’t drink the damn green beer, an abomination and insult to the soul!   Have a dram of Jameson’s with a Guinness back for me! Today is the Feast ...

                Queen  Esther and the King. Note —It is a special two-fer Thursday.   This year the Jewish festival of Purim and Saint Patrick’s Day coincide to say nothing of my 73rd orbital anniversary.   Usually such convergences would inspire poetry, but nothing new oozed out this time.   Instead we will feature versions of two chestnuts for the occasion. Jewish holiday Purim is observed today.   It is one of my favorites of all religious celebrations.   As a Rabbi who spoke at the Peace and Unity Prayer Vigil at Islamic Foundation North in Waukegan a few years ago said. “Purim is a holy day when we are commanded to have fun.”   To familiarize folks with her story and the joyous festival which commemorates h...

“I need you, you need me. We’re all a part of God’s body. Stand with me, agree with me. We’re all a part of God’s body. It is His will that every need be supplied. You are important to me, I need you to survive. You are important to me, I need you to survive.” … Continue reading I Need You To Survive

“I feel called to Cernunnos – how do I get started?” There is no one right way. But this is what I’ve done, and what I’ve seen others do that worked for them.

My uncle Bob died late last month. I’ve been thinking about him a lot. I talked to my younger sister about him, even wound up talking to some cousins I haven’t talked to in a long time. Thinking back about parents and aunts and uncles and grandparents and great-grandparents. All the things I don’t know, … Continue reading "Thinking back"

Please join us on Saturday (19 March 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 March 2022)"

Sunday, March 20, 10:30 a.m. A Stream of Living Souls An In Person Worship Service with Rev. Alice Anacheka-Nasemann   We are part of a stream of living souls who have found a religious home at the Unitarian Church of Marlborough & Hudson. Join us in person this Sunday for a worship service led by Rev.   [ … ] The post Sunday, March 20 ~ A Stream of Living Souls ~ 10:30 a.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

An interview with Nøkken And The Grim at Austin Witchfest highlights the connection of band member, Fehérló Gortva’s connection Hungary and the war in Ukraine. Continue reading Nøkken + The Grim at Austin Witchfest at The Wild Hunt.

Meaningful Ways to Support Ukraine – March 11, 2022 – As we witness the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine unfold, we, at the Canadian Unitarian Council, reaffirm our commitment to creating a more peaceful, just, and equitable world. We find our strength in community and are reminded of these words from Mark Morrison-Reed in Singing the […] The post Meaningful Ways to Support Ukraine appeared first on Canadian Unitarian Council Conseil unitarien du Canada.

Christine Slocum White supremacy culture tells me that I’m only "good" if I’m perfect, treating all falls as hard stops. Continue reading "Learning How to Fail"

Rachel Corrie as a student at Evergreen State College in her hometown of Olympia, Washington. It was 19 years ago today on March 16, 2003 that Rachel Corrie , a 23 year old American volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) was killed by an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) armored bulldozer as it attempted to destroy the home of a Palestinian doctor in the Rafah refugee camp in Gaza.  The Palestiniansshe died protecting are under even greater siege today with village after village targeted for leveling to make way for new settlements. Eyewitness members of her ISM team say that Corrie, wearing a bright orange jacket, was clearly visible to the driver of the bulldozer before she fell off the mound of earth it was pushing up a...

“I do not wish to breathe another breath if it is not shared with others. The breath of life is not mine alone. I brought myself to be with you, hoping that by inhaling the compassion, the courage, the hope found here, I can exhale the fear, the selfishness, the separateness I keep so close … Continue reading The Breath of Life

My daughter said, “Why is it so pink?” I responded that pink was part of the actual background color, and that I was exaggerating that but would be mottling it (as I have now done, above). I said I was trying to show how there was a glow around the needles. She affirmed that there’s […]

Find more information on UUA elections. Continue reading "Unitarian Universalist Association Elections"

nomination slate for UUA board and committee volunteer positions to be elected at GA 2022 Continue reading "Nominations for Election at General Assembly 2022"

As this year’s Stewardship season has begun, we have been thinking of the generous, creative, courageous, and gracious ancestors who have shaped this congregation with their presence and participation. We remember. We remember with gratitude. We remember with gratitude and humility. Their stories are in the walls, ... read more . The post Co-Ministers’ Colloquy – March 15th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Senior Youth Group has resumed meeting IN-PERSON! Such a delight! This past Sunday, our Senior Youth resumed in-person meetings! Our Waters House Youth Room once again rang out with laughter and good conversation. Comparisons of how much each one has grown and/or changed since they last saw each other ... read more . The post RE This Week – March 15th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

This month we explore polarities, two things that are both needed, and that exist in tension with one another, such as activity and rest, or an inhale and an exhale. We can’t really choose just one. A paradox is a statement that seems absurd at ... read more . The post March Theme – Paradoxes and Polarities appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

CovidActNow still has Schenectady County in medium, which is excellent news. Each week more folks are attending in-person. Last Sunday, lots of folks were visiting and chatting and some of us went to the dining room for choir rehearsal! Some of us have been visiting or ... read more . The post COVID Update March 15th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

The next discussion of readings by Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC) authors will be held Monday, March 28, at 6:30 pm on Zoom. Tom Comparin will facilitate the discussion of this book of short stories that has won the PEN/Faulkner Award, the $20,000 Story Prize, and ... read more . The post Book Discussion: The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, by Deesha Philyaw appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

A Q&A with Jonathan Rosenblum | That’s a really good question, Matt. To the examples you gave, I would also add the fight to eliminate student debt. The Joe Biden administration is resuming mandatory debt payments for millions of workers in this country, which is going to be economically devastating. The Biden administration has also ended the eviction moratorium protecting people from eviction, millions and millions of working class people are now in jeopardy of losing their homes.

(Click on this link to hear a recorded version of the following piece) As we continue to watch Russia’s invasion of Ukraine brutally unfold it is, perhaps, inevitable that many people are seeing historical parallels with the run-up to the Second World War. So, for example, some people are saying that the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014 could be seen as a parallel to the German invasion of the Sudetenland in 1938, and the current Russian invasion of Ukraine as a parallel to the German invasion of Poland in 1939. It’s clearly tempting to make such claims but I’m not entirely sure the parallels are real. However, having said that, I do find myself generally agreeing with a point of view attributed to Mark Twain, namely that “hist...

In this week's Pagan Community Notes, Sturgeon apologizes, Paganicon returns, more announcements and news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of March 14, 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

    The Ides of March… Be fearful of exalted rank, o soul. And if you are unable to subdue your aspirations — doubtingly pursue them and with precautions. And the more you rise, the more examining, the warier be. And when you are arrived at the supreme height of your glory — a Caesar, […]

The spark to a world-wide movement--Greta Thunberg's on child strike for the climate in Stockholm.   Note— This is the third anniversary of the Global Strike for Future also called Student Strike for Climate inspired by the dynamic and laser-focused child climate activist Greta Thunberg.  Today we look back at our blogpost celebrating the occasion. Beware the Ides of March ye plutocrats, oligarchs,planet rapers, and thumb-twiddlers!  The Children are marching on your gates around the world and they are plenty pissed off that you are stealing their future and doomingthe Earth.  And it all began with a simple act of defiance by one 15 year-old girl. On August 20, 2018, Greta Thunberg, a ninth grade student, decided to not attend scho...

  Currently writing two manuscripts since I've finished my science fantasy book, The Girl Who Had a Name. I'm writing the second book in this series and I've revived a southern gothic magical realism novel from a few years back. So many choices...why stop with one.

Can Gods usually associated with other people and other parts of the world influence this war? Will They? Should we pray to Gods associated with the region instead? I have more questions than answers, but they’re questions worth contemplating.

Ever wonder why honeybees are not called furry bees? After all, they are covered with tiny little hairs that make them quite furry looking. Turns out those tiny little hairs are very important in helping bees and flowers to live together in mutual interdependence.  The pollen a flower creates gets caught in the hairs of … Continue reading Living Together

Coming along. Maybe I will finish it tomorrow. Cryptomeria, the next tree in the field guide, is tugging at my sleeve, but I’m really relishing this time with a beloved tree.

 Faith is the reality of things hoped for, the proof of things not seen.  It was their faith that made our ancestors reach for the heavens. Because of faith, Noah built the ark and received the rainbow sign. Because of faith, Abraham left his homeland and set out for a country he had never seen. Because of faith, Moses left Egypt and Miriam hurled Pharoah’s horse and rider into the sea.   Because of faith, Joshua circled the city of Jericho and the walls came tumbling down.   Because of faith Rosa sat, Martin marched, and John Lewis knelt to pray. Because of faith, Mandela persevered, Zelensky held fast. What else can I say?  There isn’t enough time to tell about all the prophets: Harriet Tubman, Susan B. Anthony, Ida B. Wells...

Remember those minutes-long social media videos of folks quarantine clapping for frontline workers? And for the medical staff and carers looking after droves upon droves of COVID patients? Do you also remember that most of the ones getting the applause were women? If our global health crisis has made one thing clear, it’s how much we depend on—and take for granted—the recognized and unrecognized work women of all cultures do to keep societies going.

  THE EVOLUTION OF GOD Rev. Kit Ketcham, March 13, 2022      It was a beautiful afternoon in fall on a Rocky Mountain hillside, where I sat enjoying the blue skies and warm sun with friends who had gathered at the home of a fellow member of Jefferson Unitarian Church, my church home there in Golden, Colorado.      I’d recently entered seminary and was beginning the school year excitedly engaged in studies of pastoral care, Old Testament, and Church History, surrounded by students from all different Christian backgrounds with a variety of doctrines and dogmas.      I felt a little like an outsider at seminary; I was one of only a handful of Unitarian Universalist students, there at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, a very li...

          The pandemic began and I was sure of one thing, but no idea other things were coming. I knew the virus would be around longer than expected but not that our national response would be outright resistance to good sense and the best science–that the war we would wage would be against each other, […]

Continuing coverage of the stories from some of the Pagans who remain inside Ukraine. Continue reading Stories during Siege – an update on Ukraine Pagans at The Wild Hunt.

          February, though short in duration, began with the sage forecasts of Punxsutawney Phil, and ended with Presidents Day, to either of which we give little credence or importance. Between were days of racy, suggestive Valentines and of storefronts are sick with every shade of red. Time to love, because we say so.           But […]

While researching something else I stumbled on this in my files. The only leadership lesson anyone will ever need. Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt. Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench. Care about people’s approval and you will […]

    Question: What is Pi? Answer: A mathematical constant, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, the distance around the edge, it turns out, is a little more than three times the distance across. That “little more” makes it wondrously irrational… Question: What is Pi Day? Answer: Every March 14th, mathematicians and […]

Carpe Diem! Seize the day! One of the best ways is to share part of your day with an organization or someone who needs assistance. Volunteer and support a cause you are passionate about. It’s a win win situation when you make a valuable contribution of time and talent to your church or other organization. It’s hard to put a price on it but it makes a world of difference. The post Centennial Awards: Arlene Johnson appeared first on BeyondBelief.

  Congregational polity is destroying people of color in Unitarian Universalism. I am currently in the process of returning to work after a 5 month medical leave.  In September, I realized that stress, internal organizational conflicts and pressures had simply gotten to be too much for me.  I was not caring for my body, I […]

A caricature of Sylvia Beach. Sylvia Beach made her mark in wildly exciting post-World War I Paris when Americans and other English speaking expatriates flocked to the city for a taste of la vie boheme as a bookstore proprietor, center of social and intellectual lifefor a generation of writers, and almost accidentally as the publisher of the most notorious book of the 20th Century. She was born in a Presbyterian parsonage in Baltimore, Maryland on March 14, 1897.  Her father, the Rev. Sylvester Beach, was the son of missionaries to China and the most recent in a long line of Calvinist clergy.  The second of three daughters the very bright young girl was raised in every way to be a respectable American lady.  And she might well have be...

“We are all capable In different ways With various strengths and talents. We are all holy Part of the universe And the interdependent web.” -Cindy Fesgen What strengths and talents do you bring to the universe today?

I’m very, very close to writing the Dewey Decimal number on all the books in my office. Before anyone gets worried about incipient OCD (cue my wife saying: “Incipient?”), hear me out. There are about 10% of my books that I never know how to categorize. My office shelves have sections: worship resources like meditation […]

After last night’s snow storm, temperatures rose above forty degrees this afternoon. Carol and I took a long walk, winding up in Riverside Cemetery, where we were especially interested in the nineteenth century gravestones.

The fourth difficulty some Unitarians have with humility is that we can be proud of the way we are, and we don’t want to let that go. Many of us have a lot of education. I do – because I enjoyed wrestling with recondite texts and then meeting with others in classrooms and seminars to talk about them. That was my idea of fun, and I had enough generational privilege to be able to do that. Many of us tend to be proud of our schooling and erudition. Those years in school were good for something, we are convinced. They improved us. They made us better that we were. We might not like to admit out loud to the logical train that follows from that, but our egos put two and two together: if we now are better than our less educated former selve...

My friend the Reverend Mary Gates writes “Rabbi Yaakov Bleich, the Chief Rabbi for Ukraine, has asked Jews and Christians around the world to pray Psalm 31 in solidarity with those in Ukraine who are under attack. Apparently millions of people are saying this psalm daily, and in Ukraine people are praying it aloud in […]

TWH's Lyonel Perabo speaks with Adrian Ivakhiv, professor of environmental and cultural studies at the University of Vermont, about the role of Paganism in both the Ukrainian and Russian nations since the end of the Soviet Union. Continue reading Religious and civilizational aspects of the war in Ukraine: a discussion with Adrian Ivakhiv at The Wild Hunt.

    A Holy Curiosity:A Meditation on Albert Einstein and Nondual Religion James Ishmael Ford A Sermon delivered at the First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles 13 March 2022 The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when one contemplates the […]

with Rev. John & Tina DeYoe, DLRE  Sunday, Feb. 27th from 1-2pm & Sunday, March 13th from 1-2pm!  Register using this link: https://forms.gle/bzC3UmEP9v3DHQ7k9 *Masks and vaccinations required to attend. Our postponed chapel program is back in February! The new year is a great time for your family to learn about, and create a family covenant together, …<p> Family Chapels & Family Covenanting Read More »

Friends, our own Vitaliy Gyrya will present a special forum this Sunday on current events in Ukraine. Vitaliy, from Ukraine, will give opening remarks and then open the floor for questions and discussion. Please join us immediately after the service (Sunday 3/13) for this special forum.

Could following a Unitarian Universalist path be easier than we thought? Who is this guy? And what are the steps? You'll need to come to church to find out.

The tree in the above picture is covered in lace lichen, often mistaken for Spanish Moss, which does not grow in California. Lace lichen is common, however, and amazingly beautiful. I took the picture at Tomales Bay State Park during a hike this week. In 2016, lace lichen was added to the group of official […]

Spring is the season of hope, but my hope is rather uncertain at the moment. This year, I suggest we set our poetry aside and simply enjoy Spring for the sake of Spring. Enjoy the rebirth of the land. Enjoy Nature’s beauty.

I first understood interdependence in elementary school when I learned about the water cycle that happens on our planet. I felt so awestruck thinking that the water I was drinking was once rain in India that flowed to the sea. When we are in our silos, nations,  and families, it can be so hard to … Continue reading Water Cycle

Two years ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Coronavirus pandemic and suddenly, as if a light switch had been flicked everything changed.   We shut down and retreated to our homes, got used to mantras about masks, social distancing, and washing our hands for as long as it takes to sing Happy Birthday. I was getting ready for an event that I had been working on for months—Poets in Resistance II scheduled for Friday, March 13 at the Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation in McHenry, Illinois.   A year ago today, I had to abruptly cancel the event and scramble to contact all of the poets and volunteers and let the public know.   Still, I expected we could reschedule in a couple of month or so.  It never ha...

Many nights, I am tempted to skip that day’s drawing, but I’ve stuck to it every time. Usually, even if I don’t sit down to it until 10 p.m., the process gives me energy and I’m glad to be drawing. But last night, I really wanted a break from both drawing and piano practice, gave […]

    STOP THE WAR Tom Daimon Wardle Empty Moon Zen   A Ritual to Read to Each Other If you don’t know the kind of person I am and I don’t know the kind of person you area pattern that others made may prevail in the worldand following the wrong god home we may […]

On Tuesday, the Idaho House of Representatives passed a startlingly invasive anti-transgender bill. Weekend editor Eric O. Scott considers Pagan responsibility opposing these laws. Continue reading Editorial: Pagans must fight for transgender youth at The Wild Hunt.

There's a good saying, "If you break it, fix it." Unfortunately most folks don't know how to fix things anymore so we assume the things we've bought or in some way forced to be surrendered into our hands can be thrown away when our misadventures are complete. But what if what you've attempted to take is a whole nation and your insistence on taking over wreaks destruction that will surely last generations. What I have to say to Putin (and the Russian people), is that "What you're breaking each day, you will be required to fix." It's called reparations. And if Putin and the Russian people he's bankrupting think they can skate back to Moscow when it's all over, they should think again. During WWII, Finland had sided with Nazi Germany in the...

Please join us on Sunday (13 March 2022) at 11:00 AM for “The Home We Share with All Living Things” by. Rev. Barbara Jarrell. This will be an outdoor worship service with Rev. Barbara Jarrell and friends.  Please join us on the playground at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 9449 Ellerbe Road, Shreveport LA  71106 if … Continue reading "Online All-Ages Worship (13 March 2022)"

We will continue to watch the local COVID numbers and we feel encouraged by the dropping COVID case rates. Religious education classes for children and youth will resume on 20 March 2022 (please note that this is a change from last week’s religious education announcement). Starting next Sunday, the children and youth will join us … Continue reading "Children and Youth Religious Education Updates"

Please join us on Sunday (13 March 2022) at 9:00 AM for our adult religious education class via Zoom. This Sunday we begin our work through the book Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad. As the author says, “This is not a book you read, this is a book you do” and we … Continue reading "Online Adult Religious Education — 13 March 2022"

Please join us next Tuesday (15 March 2022) 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 order to survive the apocalypse– any apocalypse at all– we have to give up the counterfeit currency of self- sufficiency” -Sean Parker Dennison, from “How to Survive the Apocalypse,” in Breaking and Blessing How can you practice giving up the harmful myth of self-sufficiency?

A child with her doll sheltering from the bombing in Donetsk, Ukraine (Source: UNICEF) 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— As a minister, I often find myself talking with and, in a painfully limited and inadequate way, trying to help, and finding help for, refugees and asylum seekers who, despite the many cruel and unfair blocks put in their way by the UK Government, have successfully made it to these shores seeking escape from poverty, hunger, fear, political and religious repression, and violence.  Whenever I meet a refugee or asylum seeker — or indeed, ...

It’s the birthday of the organizationthat the ranting right likes to blame for lesbianism, abortion, Godlessness, tolerance of immigrants and dusky minorities, and a general threat to the American way of life.   Yet the Girl Scouts of America (GSA) doesn’t seem to care and sails serenely and successfully on while the erstwhile conservative pet Boys Scouts have nearly collapsedin the wake of sex abuse scandals, financial mismanagement, a history racism, anti-Gay bigotry, and discrimination against women and girls.   The former BSAwas forced to admit Gay Scouts and leaders leading to their largest troop sponsor, the Church of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) to abandon them.   Opting to admitgirls to most programs caused Fox News tal...

Please join us on Saturday (12 March 2022) from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM for our monthly building and grounds work day. Along with the other inside and outside tasks, we will be digging a new hole for yet another rainbow banner — the fourth one replacing the third one that was recently stolen. This … Continue reading "Building and Grounds Work Day (12 March 2022)"

Please join us on Saturday (12 March 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 March 2022)"

"I have wondered for a long time what makes a tarot deck “click” for someone. My first deck, a pocket-sized Rider-Waite-Smith that my partner took exactly one look at before it fell to me, was entirely opaque when I first picked it up. I didn’t know the symbols they featured or how they were used, and only the small folded paper included in the box offered any insight. I worried over it, put it down, came back to scour the nine-word summaries of each card and try again. I attempted a Celtic cross based on the inch-high diagram, a feat which has meant that my standard spread is just slightly misaligned from everyone else’s I’ve ever met. " Continue reading Column: Sortilege – Building a Tarot Deck Out of Traded Pieces at The ...

How do we center justice in the climate movement? Like many climate activists, the urgency of climate change drives my action.  That urgency encouraged me to affirm solutions like 100% renewables no matter the cost…until I started recognizing the costs. Without centering justice, our climate work “saves the planet” for a select few at the expense of countless others. Without climate justice, we sacrifice the people who are least responsible and most impacted.   It’s easy to say, “we must center justice!” We know it is much harder to do the work.  Even with the best of intentions, we struggle to create the trusting relationships critical to transforming our future.  And even with the deepest of convictions, we struggle to...

    I am a High School dropout. I am forever grateful for California’s community college system, its night school in San Diego offered me a way toward higher education. In my mid thirties, when I landed at Sonoma State University, I was pretty single minded about getting into graduate school, and moving as fast […]

Sunday, March 13 A Faith That Opens Windows of Hope A Hybrid Worship Service led by Rev. Stephen Shick Unitarian Universalism has carved windows in doors that separate and divide. It has put hinges on walls of exclusion and erected signs that read “all are welcome here.” Our faith affirms that what is true in any   [ … ] The post Sunday, March 13 ~ A Faith That Opens Windows of Hope ~ 10:30 a.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

Despite her celebrity and status as a beloved icon Helen Keller ended up on J. Edgar Hoover's list of Communists.  She was never a party member or more than casually connected to groups suspected of being "fronts" but she was a proud member of the Industrial Workers of the World and of the Socialist Party as well as a long-time advocate for working people and for Civil Rights despite her privileged  Southern roots. On June 9, 1949 J. Edgar Hoover did his part to fuel the growing anti-Communist hysteria sweeping post-World War II America when he released a “confidential” Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI)report that named scores of influential Americans, most of them in the movie and entertainment business as members of the Com...

We all share one planet. While we are all individuals, communities are made up of individuals.  Nations are made up of communities.  We  all need to be working together toward the good of all on the planet, including the humans and the animals and the plants. -Judy DiCristofaro (CLF) How can you live from your … Continue reading One Planet

Trying out an ink pen again . . .

New scholarship on Stonehenge suggests that it may also have served as a time-keeping device. Continue reading New research suggests Stonehenge was a time-keeping system while raising new questions at The Wild Hunt.

In response to the outpouring of concern, the UUA shares the most up-to-date information on how UUs in this country and around the world are responding and amplify the ways that we can all help.

A Q&A with Margaret Peacock and Erik L. Peterson | Early in 2020, we realized we were each in the process of collecting sources from the unfolding pandemic. Erik began focusing on the unfolding epidemiology of the pandemic when it was still limited to East Asia, while Margaret was paying close attention to the ways the pandemic was playing out in global media. We realized that we could produce something exceptional if we each brought our areas of expertise to the table to write a book that attempted to cross many facets of the pandemic experience.

Warp Corps Community Outreach , 114 N. Benton Street in Woodstockwill now offer free ride service to Community Power Shower Eventsat Willow Crystal Lake, 100 South Main Street in Crystal Lake. Empower Shower is a collaborative community event providing homeless individuals access to a variety of resources.   Warp Corps and Willow Creek will work together to provide transportation from Woodstock and surrounding townsfor the events that are held every first and third Mondays of every month from 10 am to 2 pm.   Regular pick-ups will be scheduled at the Woodstock Metro Station at 9:30 am and the Woodstock Wendy’s parking lot, 120 North Eastwood Drive.   Individualswho cannot meet at these locations and times can reach out to the Warp C...

Former wrongly accused death row inmate Gary Gauger donated grant money he received to Compassion for Campers. Gary Gauger , the wrongly convicted Richmond vegetable farmer who was falsely accused and convicted of the murders of his parents and spent two years and 9 months on death row, recently received a $900 grantfrom Witness to Innocence, a nonprofit that offers supportto wrongfully convicted death row exonerees.  Instead of keeping the money, Gauger donated the entire amount to Compassion for Campers which supplies camping gear and supplies to the homeless in McHenry County. Witness to Innocence received the money from one of the exonerees who did received compensationfrom the courts.  Nathson Fields served 18 years in prison for ...

Bruce Knotts Resources and compassion are needed to expand our care not just to those in Ukraine but in other parts of the world.

When I was a child we were taught about endangered whales, and the human activity that put them in peril. Even as a four-year-old, I was led to understand that how I participated in our society had effects beyond me, and that my choices were important to the interdependent web of existence. -Michael Tino (CLF) … Continue reading Save The Whales

No one gets every reading right. That’s OK – it’s not unethical to be wrong. It is, however, unethical to claim that we know more than we do, or that we know with more certainty than we actually have.

At five fifty four in the afternoon on the 10th of March in 1933, Long Beach, California was stricken with a terrible earthquake. The epicenter was actually off the coast southeast of the city. As it turns out, close enough. It lasted for ten seconds. Ten horrific seconds. There were as many as 120 casualties, […]

The fact that this tree is commonly called “California nutmeg” threw me into a tizzy for a few minutes. Nutmeg? It is very aromatic . . . Wait, but it’s a yew. Does nutmeg come from a yew? Mind reeling . . . but no. It’s just called that because its cones look a lot […]