I suspect that most people who say “thoughts and prayers” are just mouthing the words – they will do neither. Because if they really were thinking or praying or both, they would also be doing a lot more.

I thought I posted this two days ago, but apparently not.

Carolyn Chen, a UC Berkeley sociologist who studies religion, spent the last few years studying religion in Silicon Valley. She’s especially interested in the way work has become a religion for the tech workers of Silicon Valley — and in the way tech companies use religion to keep their workers in line. Not surprisingly, given … Continue reading "“Whitened Buddhism” and the opiate of the masses"

The June program for EBWA, the Evening Branch of the Women’s Alliance is “Schenectady’s Leading Ladies: A Tour with the Schenectady County Historical Society.” It will be held on Thursday June 16 at 5pm. (followed by a “bring your own bag supper and chair” behind the ... read more . The post Schenectady’s Leading Ladies: A Tour with the Schenectady County Historical Society appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

This is such a tender time. Between a horrid act of violence fueled by racism in Buffalo, to the heartbreaking events in Uvalde, many of us are deeply saddened, angry, and feeling vulnerable. We are thinking of children and youth, who are worried and afraid. ... read more . The post Co-Ministers’ Colloquy – May 31st appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

K/1st/2nd Grade OWL (Our Whole Lives sexuality education): Their next session is scheduled for Sunday morning, 6/5, at 10:30. They’ll meet in the K/1 classroom in the church hallway, next to the dining hall. Masks are required and there is an air-filtration unit in ... read more . The post RE News – May 31st appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

UU Wellspring is a 10-month spiritual deepening course. Group members experience deep listening and spiritual reflection in small groups of about ten, inspiring personal and community transformation. Participants read, view and respond to pre-session assignments that are focused on spiritual topics and UU Theology. This ... read more . The post Registration is Now Open for UU Wellspring 2022-2023 appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

The impact of the eruption of Thera in antiquity was likely a major factor in the demise of Minoan culture. Continue reading Impacts of Bronze Age volcanic eruptions at The Wild Hunt.

Sunday, June 5, 10:30 a.m. The Blessing of Sabbath Worship Service led by Rev. Alice Anacheka-Nasemann Our theme for the month of June is Celebrating Blessings . Join us this Sunday, June 5, for a worship service celebrating the blessings of Sabbath, rest, and renewal. This morning we will also celebrate the blessing of our newest   [ … ] The post Sunday, June 5 ~ The Blessing of Sabbath ~ 10:30 a.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

Laura Solomon We are an angry and beautiful people. Continue reading "Us, Human, Here"

Comenius had put forth his argument that the senses form the core of learning: "The ground of this business (education) is, that sensual objects be rightly presented to the senses for fear that they not be received. I say, and say it again aloud, that this is the foundation of all the rest; because we can neither act nor speak wisely, unless we first rightly understand all the things which are to be done and whereof we have to speak. Now there is nothing in the understanding which was not before in the senses. And therefore to exercise the senses well about the right perceiving of the differences of things will be to lay the grounds for wisdom and all wise discourse, and all discreet actions in one's course of life, which, because it is ...

  Please support the Ride to Keep a Light On, a fun, easy bicycle ride through the streets of Woodstock, Illinoisthis Friday June 3.   The event raises funds for organizations serving the community including Compassion for Campers.   To support the event volunteer to ride and gather sponsors and buy color-coded string of lights—a different color for each charity—to decorate bikes or yourselves.   Strings are $9 each and all proceeds go the correspondingcharity.   Gathering and sales of strings begins in Woodstock Square at 7:30 with the ride beginningafter full dark about 8:30. Ride to Leave a Light on founder and sponsor Ken West in his Material Things Artisan Market in Woodstock. The event is sponsored by Material Things Artis...

  I took this photo in September 2016 by St Andrew the Great, Cambridge using my Ricoh GR. As I recall it,  the older gentleman in the centre foreground was the person I thought I was about to photograph but, as I pressed the shutter the two men on the right suddenly appeared in the frame. Oh well, never mind . . . It was only when I got home that I realised that in that 1/320 of a second I’d caught, wholly by chance, a moment that spoke strongly to me of the work of the social anthropologist Tim Ingold who explores the human as an organism which “feels” its way through the world that “is itself in motion” and, in so doing, is constantly creating and being changed by spaces and places as they are encountered.  As such it’s...

Make Magazine provided this link to enable Wisdom of the Hands blog readers to log in to the zoom interview by Dale Dougherty at 6 PM Central Daylight Time on June 2, 2022. https://make.activehosted.com/f/38 I hope to find a few of my friends in attendance. A Q and A session will follow. Make, fix and create... 

In the Buddhist tradition, one cultivates metta, or lovingkindness. It is a practice of wishing yourself and others freedom from suffering as well as happiness and peace. Practice a brief metta meditation today: May I be happy. May I be well. May I be peaceful and at ease. May you be happy. May you be … Continue reading Lovingkindness

In this week's Pagan Community Notes: Adelaide University rejects Occult Club, Thor's Oak Kindred builds a team to walk in the Ricky Byrdsong Memorial Race Against Hate, Announcements and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of May 31, 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

Karen Hutt , Lauren Wyeth , Jen Crow We can build on our traditions to keep pushing our boundaries.

My zoom conversation with Dale Dougherty at Make Magazine on Thursday is a members only affair and I learned that the link I provided yesterday will not work. I'm checking to see if there's a link I can offer to non-members. I'll share it when I can.  Make, fix and create...

Matilda--you were brand new! Note —Granddaughter Matilda was born on Sunday, May 30, 2020—traditional Memorial Day—at 10:40 am.  That was just in time for me to make the exciting announcement in the virtual coffee hour following Tree of Life UU Congregation Coronavirus Zoom services.  How could I forget.  This will likely become an annual blog tradition To Matilda Mokoto Holmes on Your Birth May 30, 2020 I understand you can’t read this.  You have been very busy getting born, learning how to breathe and such.  Hopefully your mother will keep a copy of this to share with you on some appropriate birthday a few years from now. On the day you were born the sky was crystal blue and everything was lush green bursting with young li...

Beloved, Fiercely Fabulous, persistent, creative, may we flower, fly, and flutter in these sacred images. May we dare to be our whole, beautiful selves, loving boldly, knowing that will appear in many hues and guises, many differing mutual expressions, many splendid ways we haven’t imagined or created yet. May we...

On this day in the United States, it is Memorial Day, a day to remember those who have died serving the country in the Armed Forces. Who are you remembering today?

We honor all military personnel who died serving in the U.S. armed forces Continue reading Honoring and remembering those who died in service at The Wild Hunt.

Today is the new moon. This morning I sat near the pond, reading my journal from the date of the last new moon, as is my practice. Then along came this cardinal landing on a rock on the other side of the pond, about 12 feet away from me. After I took this photo, it […]

  ZEN AND THE DARK Chris Hoff Dharma TeacherEmpty Moon Zen This week I visited Sedona Arizona. Sedona is a place I have visited regularly since the first time I visited over 25 years ago. I know this might be cliché but, I just like the vibe. And its beauty of course. Sedona is known […]

On June 2nd, 6-7 PM Central Daylight Time I'll have a zoom call with Dale Dougherty of Make Magazine to discuss my book, The Wisdom of Our Hands: Crafting, A Life. You can use this link to attend. https://events.zoom.us/ev/DCjLXONM6ntIQ8QvlQAAFgAAABcIpJ4ThKi6wJMuj5PgzrNXCXHZOzyEtodmB-uZP84LF3fJzMFY~AIgqBPhnPmV9neFBus2ix6O8JdvnZQvVoE2jfTw  The event will consist of an interview by Dale, and there will be time allotted for a Q and A. Make members are invited but with this message you are, too. You will need to register in advance to attend using the link I provided above. If you register, they will send you a link allowing you to zoom in. Make, fix and create...

                                           A Decoration Day card honored the Union dead exclusively. Note— This is a semi-regular Memorial Day history post.  It’s good to be reminded. Today is, of course, Memorial Day in the United States.  The Uniform Holiday Act, passed in 1968, set 1971 as the year the Federal government would begin observing the holiday on the last Monday of May giving Americansa three day holiday weekend to start the summer season, to be balanced by a three day Labor Day weekend in September.  Veteran’s groups were nearly unanimous inopposition to the move fearing that it would dilute the observance as families planed fun activitiesinstead of solemnly commemorating the war dead.  ...

The website Pest Management Handbooks (Pacific Northwest) says, “The serpentine madrone miner adult is a tiny moth. Larvae of this leaf- and twig-mining moth blaze sinuous, serpentine mines across the surface of leaves. Although damage might be unsightly on individual leaves, they do not affect the long-term health of the tree.” As we know, I […]

Nine more copyright-free hymns. Yes, you can use these online without having copyright trolls harass you. They’re in this Google Drive folder, along with dozens of others. Of interest in this batch of copyright-free hymns: There are 3 hymn tunes by Thomas Commuck, the first Native American composer to publish his music. In two cases, … Continue reading "Nine more copyright free hymns"

Love is the voice in our hardest moments. It is the enduring and transformative process that returns us to community and upholds all that is the gift of life. -Erien Babcock (CLF) What has helped you through your hardest moments?

The famous "Portrait of a Creole Woman in a Madras Tignon," often erroneously claimed to portray the Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau, has sold at auction for $984,000 to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Continue reading “Her strength is haunting and unparalleled”: painting once thought to portray Marie Laveau sells for nearly $1 million at The Wild Hunt.

      THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS AND ANOTHER THING Spiritual Responses to Hard Things James Ishmael Ford Delivered on the 29th of May, 2022 at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Long Beach “Stop the war raging across the river.” “Miscellaneous Koans,” Empty Moon Zen Tomorrow is Memorial Day. It’s meant to be a time to […]

He said What he wanted to do was to Create safe spaces It was a ministry to him “Safe spaces,” I asked “How do you do that?” “By helping people be their authentic selves.” Hmm, what if that in itself isn’t safe? I very authentically never feel that kind of safety. Maybe before I was […]

Sometimes the best pictures are only in the mind, never caught on a camera. I was sitting with Billie in my blue easy chair in the bedroom, and something caught my eye outside the window. It was a goldfinch couple, perching in the peach tree, and then hopping down to the plants beneath. The bright […]

On Memorial Day weekend, as we honor and remember those who have died, we might also explore what death means, and what lessons death can teach us about life.

The weather was summertime this week and a friend gave us 6 super sweet mangoes. They are hard to peel, but an internet search which suggested scooping with a spoon helped a lot. I’d almost forgotten how good a relatively low calorie meal could taste. I tossed it with some Louisiana hot sauce and had … … Continue reading →

While some are attempting to take part in what they've called a "culture war," by steadfastly refusing to regulate weapons of war, and as children and innocent unarmed adults are killed by assault rifles folks should have few rights to in the first place, FDR proclaimed 4 fundamental freedoms that are essential in a democracy. Those were freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Those last two are the ones that we've lost in the culture war that pits the second amendment rights to "bear arms" against the safety of all Americans. Some of us want to eliminate poverty, as it is most often the source of poor schooling, stresses on the home, divorce, and of kids falling through the cracks. The "conservat...

  A Federalist cartoon show Rhode Island, the last of the thirteen pillars of the new union, teetering on the edge of a fall. Always contrarian Rhode Island stamped its tiny foot and threatened to hold its breath until it turned blue.   No, they would absolutely not ratify the tyrannical document known as the Constitution of the United States.   Sure, the moneyed interests in big states were for it—Virginia , New York , Pennsylvania .   And not-quite-so-big Massachusetts and Connecticut had voted for ratification—but that was all the more reason to be suspicious.   The big bullies were likely to swamp the sovereignty of the pipsqueak.   And Massachusetts had been literally threateningthe existence of the former Colony since Bap...

A “lapsed Catholic” writer says regressive politicians are working magic to help them turn the world back to the 1950s. And he’s right. Those of us whose worldview includes magic need to be working our own magic for ourselves and for the world at large.

Again, I want to spend more time on this one than I can do in one day, so this is a work in progress. This madrone leaf was visited by a leaf miner. Not good for the leaf, I’m sure, but so beautiful. A madrone branch adorns the front wall of UUCPA’s sanctuary, so this […]

This month the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair, New Jersey, where I attend, is focusing on the theme of beauty. Beauty is everywhere, especially in nature. The Rev. Scott Sammler-Michael said in his sermon that entire industries criticize how we look. He said they tell lies that we need certain make-up, surgery, or some new […] The post There is beauty in ritual without the glitz and glamour appeared first on Nature's Sacred Journey.

Please join us on Sunday (29 May 2022) at 11:00 AM for “Poetry for Peace — A Memorial Day Service” by the members and friends of All Souls. We will be meeting in the sanctuary for this worship service.  Please join us in person at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 9449 Ellerbe Road, Shreveport LA  … Continue reading "All-Ages Worship (29 May 2022)"

Please join us on Sunday (29 May 2022) at 9:00 AM for our adult religious education class via Zoom. This Sunday we continue 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 — 29 May 2022"

On this Sunday (29 May 2022), children and youth religious education classes will continue to meet in person during our 11:00 AM worship service. We have resumed our pre-COVID practice where the children and youth will join us in the sanctuary for the first 15-20 minutes and then we will sing them out to their … Continue reading "Children and Youth Religious Education (29 May 2022)"

Please join us next Tuesday (31 May 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.

I have received a few love letters from some of the 1,567 CLF members currently experiencing incarceration. But what’s more common than love letters are the letters of deep appreciation. People express their gratitude for nonjudgmental connection; for the words of hope that we write; for our ability to make a prisoner feel worthy. Everyday … Continue reading Worthy

TWH's Karl Seigfried speaks with Stephanie Smith Pasculli, a Heathen currently serving as part of the crew of the Draken Harald Hårfagre, a ship built in the style of the Viking Age, about life on the ship and the relationship between historical reenactment and modern Heathenry and Paganism. Continue reading On a Viking ship – an interview with Stephanie Smith Pasculli at The Wild Hunt.

I read about a country western music star, a grammy award winner, who backed out of the NRA convention. He said, however, that he was a "proud gun owner." What is there about gun ownership that could make a man feel proud? A young man, 18years or or in some cases younger, can own an assault rifle giving him the potential of taking lives from innocent folks. Would it be more fitting to state one's embarrassment instead? And yet the world seems to be full of "proud gun owners." We've far too many of them, and far too many guns.  Gun manufacturers have used advertising to attempt to associate their products with military bravery, but should guns not be seen as an expression of cowardice instead? Would it not be a better world if we would w...

The last couple weeks have been focused on healing in our household. My partner Margy had knee replacement surgery, and came home to recuperate after a couple days in the hospital. Then, one of our cats, Billie, perhaps from the stress, stopped eating, and had something going on with her liver. So the vet came […]

At 5 a.m., I got up to make breakfast. The temperature was about 45 degrees — cool enough for a sweater, a jacket, and a warm hat. After eating breakfast and packing up, I spent some time looking at the huge mistletoes growing on a nearby oak tree. Two of them must have been more … Continue reading "Two Oaks to Coe State Park HQ via Poverty Flats"

Coe State Park is a magical place, and I decided to return there one last time before we move to Massachusetts. I left the park headquarters at 11:50 a.m., and began hiking up Monument Trail. It was slow going with a full pack, but even at my slow pace I overtook an amateur herpetologist who … Continue reading "Coe State Park HQ to Two Oaks"

              It was on this day, the 18th of May, in 1871 that the uprising we know as the Paris Commune, the Commune de Paris, fell…

      Julia Ward Howe was born on the 27th of May, in 1819. She was half of one of the nineteenth century’s genuine power couples (Her husband Dr Samuel Gridley Howe was the founding director of Perkins School for the Blind was the first person to develop a system for educating the deafblind.), she […]

  Members of the Grand Army of the Republic and its Lady's Auxiliary gathered to dedicate the Civil War monument in Woodstock Square in 1909.  The four cannon tubes that guarded the monument were removed and melted during World War I scrap iron drives but their stone bases remain.  Note— We will be revisiting Decoration Day/Memorial Day posts this weekend beginning with this on from 2018 In 1909 the aging veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) and its Ladies’ Auxiliary gathered on the Square in Woodstock, Illinois on what was then known as Decoration Day .   Something made this gathering different from others held annually since General John A. Logan, the first Commander-in-Chief of the GAR issued General Order No. 11 i...

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— I acknowledge that this coming week, in the United Kingdom anyway, there will be no opportunity entirely to avoid the celebrations for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Given this, I’d like to offer you a provocative but, I hope, constructive thought-experiment about monarchy that you might wish to think through over the next seven days, namely, anarcho-monarchism. Now, lest my mention of anarchism unduly frightens the horses from under some of you, please remember that, etymologically speaking, the word “anarchy” simpl...

Please join us on Saturday (28 May 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 (28 May 2022)"

When I was a small child home was simply the house in which I lived. My parents and siblings were there, it held comfortable and familiar material belongings, and most rules and expectations were clearly defined. I was fed and cared for and most of my needs were provided for. I really did not think about how to define home because I did not know anything else. For a time, I just accepted that the environment my parents provided was what home was supposed to be. There is no clear point that I can remember when that began to change but change it did. Continue reading Column: A Lifetime of Looking for Home at The Wild Hunt.

Agape love was central to the beliefs and actions of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who defined it as “purely spontaneous, unmotivated, groundless, and creative. It is the love of God operating in the human heart.” To Dr. King, this powerful love inspired nonviolence and called for equality. How does love inspire you … Continue reading Love and Justice

Staff Writer Discussion guides and resources are available for Defund Fear.

  Amelia Bloomer should be remembered as one of the founding sisterhoods of the women’s movement as an attendee of the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, a lifelong suffrage and temperance reformer, a pioneering female journalist , and the first American woman to ownand publish a newspaper.   But she is not.   Instead she is remembered for a fashion fad or, if you prefer, a radical attempt to reform women ’ s clothing that she neither invented nor was the first to wear. Amelia Jenks was born on May 27, 1818 Homer, New York on the southern end of the Finger Lakes District.   Her family were respectable people of limited income but who encouraged all of their children to get some education.   Amelia, a very bright child, got a rudiment...

          Berry Crawford at Simplicity Zen, interviewed me about a lot of things, although the touchstone was the Zen path. For more about the Empty moon project. For about my work specifically.  

Our outdoor studies class is building a "survival structure" that they plan to use for an overnight campout.  In a survival structure  you need to use the materials at hand, and what we have on campus in large quantities is bamboo. Bamboo is a fascinating material. It grows quickly and has amazing strength. In much of the world it's used to build scaffolding for construction. It is actually a type of grass. It grows thick and in northwest Arkansas is considered a nuisance plant. Once planted, it is so hardy that it is difficult to eradicate. What the students have cut will soon be replenished. The photo shows student progress. Like a structure built many years ago, "Fanshaw's dwelling" it is a two room dwelling. I've proposed an articl...

Beloved, may we remember the ones we lost untimely, unjustly, and unhappily. As we put out small flags and cherished pictures, bake their favorite cake and fill vases with the flowers they planted last year or a hundred years ago, may we make space for the observances of grief. Grief...

“. . . To speak the truth in love, to dwell together in peace. This is our covenant.” Many Unitarian Universalist congregations recite these (or similar) words together each week to honor the covenant of the congregation. How do you receive a hard truth when it is spoken in love?

In May 2022, we hosted the webinar Fostering Local Climate Resilience through Disaster Response and Community Care.  Special thanks to Rev. Karen Hutt, Unitarian Universalist Trauma Response Ministry; Halcyon Westall with the UUA Disaster Relief Fund and Faithify; and Rev. Cynthia Cain for helping us all reflect on how to cultivate community care in response to climate disasters. What now? You can view the recording here .  Share it with your congregation to start a conversation on climate resilience and disaster preparedness!   Review the resources shared, including Rev. Cynthia Cain’s Climate Response Challenges & Suggestions , Rachel Myslivy and Rev. Ranwa Hammamy’s presentations on Climate Response and the Side With Love Acti...

The impacts of La Niña sticking around is likely to cause a continued increase in the number of hurricanes for the 2022 season according to forecasters. Continue reading NOAA predicts busy Atlantic hurricane season as La Niña sticks around at The Wild Hunt.

        “It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this.” Bertrand Russell It was on this day, the 26th of May in 1328 that the minister general of the Franciscan order and three other friars, including William of […]

  Remember them!  Honor them by fighting to stop the slaughter!  Just some of the Uvalde, Texas school massacre. We are all reeling but somehow not surprised at the latest murderous rampage at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.   Once again an easily and legally obtained assault weapon was used by a young man who just turned 18.   The Texas Governor and rafts of on-the-take from the NRA grifters in Congress warn us not to take action to end gun violence.   But we will not be limited to thoughts and prayers but will be committed to action.   Write and phone your Federal and State lawmakers, sign all the petitions—it can’t hurt—Sandyhook Promise one of several being widely circulated.   March for Our Lives, the student-...

Color is hard. I’m experimenting, seldom sure what’s working, enjoying.

Unconditional love for all beings is agape love. It is the love that drives us to connect with others, the love that asks us to work for the liberation of all people, and the love most often associated with the divine by people whose belief systems include that. How do you cultivate unconditional love for … Continue reading Agape (Love for All)

Our elected leaders have a moral obligation to end the epidemic of gun violence.

A look at some of this year's Beltane celebrations in the U.K. which had been on hiatus for the past two years due to the pandemic. Continue reading Beltane celebrations in the U.K. 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

The following statement was shared with the First Parish in Cambridge community in response to the latest gun related violence: We are living in a nightmare.  It is not the more than 1M deaths from Covid; it is not the catastrophic implosion of the environment that supports human life; it is not whiteness as an […]

Our gun violence nightmare strikes again. We’re mourning the nineteen students and two teachers who died yesterday in the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Sixteen others were wounded. To honor their memory, we’re sharing these poems from “Bullets into Bells,” a powerful call to end American gun violence from celebrated poets and those most impacted.

Sunday, May 29, 10:30 a.m. Called by Loss, Called by Hope, Called by Peace: Memorial Day Reflections Worship Service led by Nancy Rogers Join us on a journey of reflection as we gather to explore the ways we memorialize the brave servicepeople who gave their lives to preserve the values and blessings of our country.   After   [ … ] The post Sunday, May 29 ~ Called by Loss, Called by Hope, Called by Peace: Memorial Day Reflections ~ 10:30 a.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

One of the most important messages that I've learned we can share with children and teens when they’re feeling anxious is, “I’m sad about the news, and I’m worried. But I love you, and I’m here to care for you.” The post Tragedy in the News: Resources for children & families to process appeared first on BeyondBelief.

Susan Frederick-Gray UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray responds to the horrific violence at an elementary school in Uvalde, TX that took the lives of 19 children and two teachers. Continue reading "From the UUA President: We all deserve to live in our communities without fear."

As an end of the school year project with  our Kindergarten students (our Rainbow Group), we made a flag boat that the students will release into the White River while on a field trip in June. I made the boat. New CSS wood shop teacher Dustin Griffith used the school's laser engraver to make an identification plate, and the students made and decorated the flags.  Being released into the White River, the boat will travel to parts unknown, and if found, the engraved plate may lead someone to contact the school. The rather plain looking boat will get additional decoration in the pre-school before launch. Make, fix and create...

May 25, 2022, marks the second anniversary of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of four police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The UUA lifts up the life of George Floyd and honors his loved ones and his community, all of whom will have a painful and indelible memory in their hearts forever. We recognize that searing injustices and death as a result of police use of force and systemic racism continue within a militarized law enforcement that has changed little. As we resolved in 2020, the UUA is committed to making our congregations and communities authentically multicultural, multiracial, anti-oppressive spaces that dismantle anti-Blackness. We pledge to continue that important antiracist work, today and for the long haul. We r...

Melissa Jeter Growing connects me to ancestors who had their hands in the dirt because it was keeping them alive. Continue reading "I Am Here, Growing"

I routinely teach kids grades k-12, and remain heart broken by gun violence in the US and the refusal of the members of the Republican party to offer more than thoughts and prayers and while they urge that we have more guns, not less. When I think of the children at Robb Elementary or at Sandy Hook, or the other places visited by senseless gun violence, I see the innocent faces of my own kids and pray that congressional inaction is brought to an immediate end.  We've no excuses. They've no excuses. From Sandy Hook and Columbine on, nearly all Republicans have fought against any sort of restrictions on gun ownership. At the same time, while claiming that the problems are mental health related, they've offered no solutions or leadership i...

  The Jail Brakers logo was created by families of the program's first pilot group who stated they wanted a support that would help break the cycle and reduce their suffering.  Jail Brakers , the program that offers support and services to the familiesof incarcerated individuals, is gearing up after the Coronavirus pandemic under the direction of new leadership.   Cheryl Niemo, the visionary founderand longtime director of the program, has retired from that roleand James Carpenter is taking the reins. Due to her personal experience with the incarceration of a family member and her experience in the social work field, Niemo founded Jail Brakers in 2009 to address the stigmarelated to incarceration and to provide meaningful resources to...

An atheist social scientist found that reason doesn’t lead people to atheism, and he’s honest enough to admit it. In this post I want to explore why religion in general and Paganism in particular are very reasonable things.

One of the meanings of “osier” is the pliable twigs of trees that can be used to make baskets. This tree is well-named, because the twigs are bright red. The leaves are green until cold weather, but I just had to draw one in its fall colors.

      Many years ago now, Jan and I and some friends visited Ireland. While in Dublin, in Merrion Square, we saw the famous statue of Oscar Wilde lounging on a rock. It’s quite the piece of art.  As, of course, was Oscar. Following his disastrous libel lawsuit against the Marquess of Queensberry, Oscar […]

A district court order forcing the government to retain Title 42 must not be the last word.

This Week: 5/6/7 Grade OWL (Our Whole Lives sexuality education): Their next session is THIS Sunday, 5/29, at 5 pm (Memorial Day weekend). They’ll meet in the large, third-floor classroom in Waters House. Masks are required and there is an air-filtration unit in the classroom. Next Week: K/1st/2nd ... read more . The post RE News appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

June 5th: A Horse of a Different Color June 12th: Bridging and Flower Communion June 19th: TBD June 26th: General Assembly Sunday Service, 12:00 noon. (No service at 10:30 am) Gather in the Great Hall for a watch-party and connection, or attend on-line! July 3rd: Interdependence Day weekend. We ... read more . The post Upcoming Worship Plans to Note! appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.