The UUA's nonpartisan civic engagement initiative is focused on states where UU congregations and individuals can make a tremendous difference in democratic engagement this year. Continue reading "UU the Vote Announces 12 States Focus for 2022 Elections: Nonpartisan Civic Engagement Initiative Strengthening Democracy, Organizing for Justice and Accountability"

Priscilla Shumway It's my actions and choices that determine my connection to others. Continue reading "Choosing to Connect"

The Wild Hunt speaks with the Josh and Cat Heath about the decision to shut down their Open Halls Project. Continue reading The Heathen Open Halls Project shuts down at The Wild Hunt.

It is good to sing praises to you, Mother of all creation. And to recognize the touch of your love… We are in awe of your power. When the seasons turn, the growing warmth reminds us of your warmth The flowing waters remind us of the life which comes from you. Thank you, Mother of … Continue reading Mother of Creation

A Q&A with Remica Bingham-Risher | I actually never contemplated writing a book of nonfiction. When I started interviewing Black poets I admired, I did imagine that one day, I’d compile all those interviews. But those would be testaments to the things they were doing in the craft; it wouldn’t have much to do with me. So, it’s interesting that, over time, all the things they taught me kind of melded into this hybrid text, but I couldn’t have imagined it for myself. I’m very grateful.

I began my Kindergarten wood working class this morning and had a great time. The kids asked, "What are we making today?" And the great thing about working with this age of student is that they're excited about making any thing... So we made note holders for them to take home and used to convey messages to each other. It is a simple project but involved sawing, hammering, and decorating. Three things that all kids love. Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning likewise.

On the International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, we ask how governments can secure the human right to clear skies and a livable climate.

Chipper mills in the US have been destroying southern hardwood forests in the US and are now doing the same thing to old growth forests in Europe according to this article in the New York Times: Europe Is Sacrificing Its Ancient Forests for Energy.  The energy monsters claim that burning ancient forests is a form of green energy, but nothing could be further from the truth. It takes hundreds of years to grow a mature forest, and the burning of them is more costly to the environment than burning coal or natural gas. In the meantime, today is my first day teaching woodworking to the Kindergarten class at the Clear Spring School. And yesterday I received copies of my Guide to Woodworking with Kids, translated into German.  Make, fix and c...

There are times that you find yourself belonging to a group that you feared. A group that would change your life forever. All you see are the tears of suffering and death. You never see the smiles and the laughter … Continue reading →

      It was on this day, the 7th of September, in 1911 that Guillaume Apollinaire was arrested under suspicion of stealing the Mona Lisa. A classic example of the dangers of being an ironist in literalist times. Apollinaire was a renowned critic, poet, pornographer and the man who coined the term “surrealism” as well […]

In this week's Pagan Community Notes: Pagan Pride events starting up, Gaea Retreat Center changes visitor policy, Parliament of the World’s Religions, and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of September 6, 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

The Rev. Kathleen McTigue wrote that we gather in community for worship, “to remind one another to rest for a moment on the forming edge of our lives, to resist the headlong tumble into the next moment, until we claim for ourselves awareness and gratitude.” ... read more . The post Co-Ministers’ Colloquy – Sept 6th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

RE classes begin Sunday, 9/25! To register your child(ren), click HERE . Below is a list of this year’s awesome RE offerings. Please note that this is a tentative schedule while we’re inviting folks to teach, facilitate, and advise. A final schedule will be ... read more . The post Religious Education News – Sept 6th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

The Co-ministers have been in conversation with several other ministers across the country about the start of the new year. There are so many factors to consider in each location when striving to care for one another in the best ways we know how. Rev. ... read more . The post COVID 19 Update – September 6, 2022 appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

“Covenant … is a vision that says we are most human when we bind ourselves in relationship. But not just any relationship – relationships of trust, mutual accountability and continual return. This is not what our culture teaches us. Our culture teaches us that what ... read more . The post September Theme: Covenantal Community appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

The blackberries in my garden have finished their abundant season. Until next year, there will be no more purple-stained fingers, no more tart cobbler, no more daily hunt for the ripest berries in the thicket. Their brief annual presence in my life is a marvel of summer, and a reminder that all things have their … Continue reading Blackberries

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post. The post Protected: The Fountain is a healing place & ours is fully restored appeared first on BeyondBelief.

Heretic, Rebel, a Thing to Flout is going on hiatus for a few days while the proprietor and Chief Blowhard takes some R&R in Door County, Wisconsin with Kathy Brady-Murfin.  Will post pictures from new cell phone camera on Facebook.  Your regular programing should resume Sunday, September 11.  

My 9-year-old granddaughter is homeschooled, but on Thursdays she goes to a “hybrid” school program with other homeschooled kids. This year she is in a class with mostly kids she didn’t know before. After the second week, I picked her … Continue reading →

Four questions on three topics: the purpose of art in Paganism, restarting a spiritual practice after a period of inactivity, and Paganism in interfaith work. Good questions that should stimulate some good discussion.

      This is the anniversary of Zen teacher Issan Dorsey’s death on the 6th of September, 1990. I’ve written appreciations a number of times, often expanding over the years on something started a long time ago. Here, after my brief bio, I include Ken Ireland’s appreciation of Issan first delivered at Maitri Hospice, […]

“It is in the small things we see it. The child’s first step, as awesome as an earthquake. The first time you rode a bike, wallowing up the sidewalk.” -From “Courage,” by Anne Sexton When has an act of courage awed you?

If you agree with anything I've written thus far, you need to read this article about cartoonist and creator Lynda Barry from the New York Times.  Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning likewise.

Happy Labor Day from The Wild Hunt! Continue reading Happy Labor Day! at The Wild Hunt.

Today we celebrate Labor Day. Ever wonder why there's no federal holiday for Management Day? There are 364 days remaining  in the year dedicated to that.  Woodrow Wilson, as president of Princeton University had said: "We want one class of persons to have a liberal education, and we want another class of persons, a very much larger class, of necessity, in every society, to forgo the privileges of a liberal education and fit themselves to perform specific difficult manual tasks."— Woodrow Wilson  He was talking about class and divide and the need to sustain it through a two tier educational system. Haven't we had fun with that?  Today I'm managing my own labor, as I do most days. I'm preparing boxes for assembly by milling slots for...

Note —This is an updated version of an almost annual holiday blog post. Today is officially Labor Day in the United States, a Federal Holiday celebrated on the first Monday of September since 1894.  For most people it is just the last hurrahof summer, an occasion for one last cookout and the gatewayto fall and football season.  In most cities and towns, the labor movement is not even perfunctorily acknowledged.  The press mostly uses the occasion to annually either write the obituary of unions or to denounce them as powerful and greedy bullies, depending on the political inclinationof the outlet. While most of us working schlumps are grateful for the day off (if we get one), I for one, wish I could officially celebrate Labor Day wit...

We hold this power in our hearts: the ability to accept or reject. Young human beings move from one group to another wondering–will they let me in? The playground. The athletic team. The lunch table. The new classroom. The return … Continue reading →

    A Definition of the Koan Zhongfeng Mingben Translated by Ruth Fuller Sasaki The koans [kungans] may be compared to the case records of the public law court. Whether or not the ruler succeeds in bringing order to his realm depends in essence upon the existence of law. Kung (ko), or “public,” is the […]

      A Fervent and Necessary Arrangement.A Dharma talk Case 29, Blue Cliff Record   James Ishmael Ford The Case A monk said to Dasui, “When the thousands of universes are altogether and utterly destroyed in the kalpa fire — I wonder whether this perishes or not.” “This perishes,” said Dasui. “If so,” persisted the […]

Chileans vote today on a new national constitution, one that enshrines Indigenous rights under the banner of plurinationalism. Continue reading Editorial: Indigenous rights come into relief in Chile’s constitutional vote at The Wild Hunt.

We breathe in.  And we breathe out. With our breaths, we focus our minds. With our breaths, we renew our intentions toward all of creation. With our breaths, we give life to our bodies. With our breaths, we spark our thoughts, we make possible our songs, we share substance with those around us, we connect … Continue reading Breath

My daughter has been hiking the Pacific Crest trail (PCT) this summer. She started at Lone Pine, CA near Mt Whitney and just crossed over to Washington State on the Bridge of the Gods. It has been quite a journey for her with months on the trail, and too many detours because of all the […]

A sermon for Labor Day.

With the planet being overpopulated as it is, I'm fully aware of the gifts of living where I do in the forest of Northwest Arkansas. What you see in the photo is what I see on my first brief dog walk in the AM— The sun's first light coming from behind a hill and slicing through the woods. I have an app to recommend that's provided by National Geographic. It is called "Seek" and can be found online for your phone, too. It allows you to accurately identify individual plants from among thousands of species, and it's like walking with an expert through the forest.  Once a plant is identified, it will provide access to a database giving additional information about that plant. And it's 100% free.  Knowing more about each plant species all...

White rioters attack a car of people who attended a heavily guarded Paul Robeson concert in Peekskill, New York in 1949. Note:  The riot in Peekskill, New York to protest the appearance of Paul Robeson was organized by the Ku Klux Klan in cahoots with the American Legion and local police.  Think it can’t happen again?  Maybe you haven’t been paying attention. It should have been a pleasant Sunday in the country.  But on September 4, 1949 the residents of up-scale,White suburban Westchester County New York got together for a well-planned riot.  It was the second one in a week.  It was inflamed by headlines in a respectable local newspaper. It was largely organized by the local Posts of the American Legion and the Veterans of For...

We need not have a robust theory of divination to use it effectively. But I’m eternally curious, and I’ve given this some thought over the years. Here are some likely possibilities that are worth exploring.

Names are doorways. They are an introduction and a way to get to an honest place about a person. Continue reading Column: How Do You Get Your Name? at The Wild Hunt.

Science, by its very nature, includes mystery and wonder.  I know this—I have experienced it myself.  Many times as a graduate student, I holed myself up in a small, dark room with a very large microscope for hours as I experimented on immune cells taken from lungs.  My experiments centered on the movement of those … Continue reading Science

Those of you who perhaps followed my peach tree saga last year might remember that after hours and hours of tending–including several organic sprays, thinning the small green peaches, putting little mesh bags on the remaining ones–the squirrels ran off with every single green peach, or knocked them off the branches as they tried to […]

    Thinking of my brother. He would have been seventy-three today. Instead he never saw fifty. We grew up cheek by jowl. Our family was always on the move. In our formative years we only had each other. As we grew up I wanted to be a priest. Christian, Buddhist, that was a matter […]

John Charles Daly with the What's My Line? panel in 1950 after poet Louis Uttermeyer was ousted by the sponsor and replaced with publisher Bennett Cerf.  Gossip columnist Dorothy Kilgallen had been with the show from the start.  Broadway actress Arlene Frances--soon to become a blonde--stayed with the show through the entire run and on the 1970s syndication run.  Comedy writer Hal Block would depart in 1953 and the "comics seat" would be occupied by Steve Allen and then radio star Fred Allen. On September 3, 1967  What’s My Line , the longest running game showin the history of prime time television, ended a 17 year run on CBS, all but the first few months in the same familiar Sunday nighttime slot.  And for all 17 years the ...

The New York Times has been running a series of editorials exploring "what is school for?" And this is a favorite. "School is for connecting with Nature." What a sad and sorry place we create for future generations if we fail to connect our children with the nature that surrounds us. I am sitting on my front porch as is common for me these days in the early morning. Dog Rosie is at my feet, her eyes, nose and ears attuned to the life that surrounds us. She assists me by calling my attention to things I would have missed.  In the wood shop I've been inlaying box lids, finishing 33 yesterday, and preparing to assemble boxes. Yesterday friends and I were discussing our own personal overloads of things we've made. A simple solution is to ma...

The Cambridge Unitarian Church on 19th July 2022, the hottest day recorded in the UK  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— In the last piece I wrote for you before going away for the summer I encouraged you seriously to consider adopting a philosophy or theology that understands movement, change and process as being fundamental to everything, including God.  Like many people involved with the Unitarian, Free Christian and Universalist tradition, I first came to know about this way of understanding the world through the highly influential process theologian ...

Please join us this Sunday (4 September 2022) at 11:00 AM for “For the Life of Our Living Tradition” by Rev. Barbara Jarrell. It is the beginning of the church year and a time to turn our focus to our Unitarian Universalist identity, history, and heritage. We will be meeting in the sanctuary for this … Continue reading "All-Ages Worship (4 September 2022)"

As the church year begins, our classes will be meeting separately for activities and discussion around our Unitarian Universalist principles and how they fit into our history and our daily lives. For most weeks, they will be joining together for part of the hour to continue work on the updated mural in the middle and … Continue reading "Children and Youth Religious Education for 4 September 2022"

Please join us on Sunday (4 September 2022) at 9:00 AM for our adult religious education class via Zoom. On this Sunday, we will continue our two-part exploration of the movement for LGBTQ+ rights within the Unitarian Universalist Association.

Join us on Sunday (18 September 2022) at 11:00 AM for our 2022 Homecoming worship service. We will recognize member milestones and include a memorial tribute to those we have lost since our last in-person homecoming. We will have a blessing of the backpacks (sports bags, dance bags, briefcases, gym bags, diaper bags, etc) for … Continue reading "Homecoming 2022 (18 September 2022)"

Each month we dedicate all of our non-pledge income to an organization doing the work that best embodies our Unitarian Universalist principles and values. For the month of September 2022, we choose Highland Center Ministries — a partnership of congregations that includes All Souls along with many congregations. Along with the Highland Blessing Dinner, the … Continue reading "Highland Center Ministries — September 2022 Give-Away-The-Plate Recipient"

Join us on Sunday (11 September 2022) at 11:00 AM for the annual presentation of the Ralph Waldo Emerson Award to Kathaleen Pittman (Director of Hope Medical Group for Women). We honor Kathaleen for her years of service and unyielding dedication to the rights of all people to plan their families as they choose and … Continue reading "Kathaleen Pittman — 2022 Emerson Award Honoree"

Back in July, Carol and I drove to the Cumberland County Fairgrounds in Maine. We sang Sacred Harp, in a pulling shed, with forty other Sacred Harp singers. There were horses trotting around the race track next to the pulling shed. The pandemic shut down in person singing for a long time. It felt really … Continue reading "What I did on my summer vacation"

Please join us on Saturday (3 September 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 (3 September 2022)"

Setting out on his bicycle in southern Sweden, Lyonel Perabo heads out in search of the Ale's Stones and the Uppåkra archeological site, once home to one of the most important Heathen temples ever excavated. Continue reading A pilgrimage to Sweden’s Stonehenge and the lost temple of Uppåkra at The Wild Hunt.

Sometimes, in the face of immense natural beauty, we feel awe. Perhaps at the base of a great waterfall, overwhelmed by the power of the rushing water, or at the top of a mountain overlooking a vast valley. When have you felt awe in the presence of great natural splendor?

Staff Writer An Ingathering greeting from UUA President Susan Frederick-Gray.

I was always interested in being somewhere in the world of books. Before college, I wanted to be a full-time writer, and at some point, in those four years, I realized I needed more social interaction in my day than there would be in a typical freelance day. Publishing seemed like the most adjacent career that was less isolated, and it’s turned out to be the case!

I love sweatersAnd I love my wifeAnd I love being outSo I have no choiceBut to love Tallahassee. Tallahassee, FloridaWas a miserable place For me to live, butThe place where my love And my livingBecame real. Tallahassee is the kind of townWhere no matter what, most daysAll you really needIs a sweaterAnd thisIs the only […]

The McLeod Ganj Psalter RSV, Week 2 Ken Ireland (Ken was Ivy League and Jesuit trained, and for some years a member of the Society of Jesus. He currently lives in Dharamshala. Ken’s a long time Zen practitioner and a friend. He’s taken an interest in my current deep dive into the Psalms project, and […]

A series of editorials in the New York Times addresses the question "what is school for?" And we must admit that it serves a variety of functions in today's world, ranging all the way from baby sitter to preparing our children for a future that's completely unknown to us. One essay insisted that School is about teaching kids to read.  When it comes to kids reading in school, some read as early as 4 years old, having read most of the beginning reading books in the library at age 5, and some are reluctant readers, and I suggest that we back way the hell off.  In the US we begin applying pressure to read in Kindergarten. In Finland they begin formal reading in schools at about age 8. When tested in the PISA test which compares education i...

Prayer for the Week of September 5, 2022 - Prayer for Labor Day Lover of Life may we give thanks for those who insist we are more than our productivity, more than economic units, more valuable than the measurements of income and assets, skills, degrees, and talents. Lover of Life...

It must have been a very hot news night when The Evening News with Walter Cronkite was aired on CBS's still un-air conditioned set in New York City. He had only been on the job a little more than a year when Walter Cronkite finally got his wish. Over the fierce objections of local affiliates who resented losing profitable time for local or syndicated programming to the network, his program, re-named the CBS Evening News , expanded from 15 to 30 minutes every night on September 2, 1963. A week later NBC ’ s Huntley-Brinkley Report , the ratings leaderamong the three network news programs by a wide margin, reluctantly followed suit.   ABC ’ s lightly regarded and little watched new program then anchored by the entirely forgotten Ron C...

A ceramic sculpture by artist Sandy Brown that was commissioned by St. Austell to celebrate and reflect the region's historical connections to the china clay industry has seven Christian leaders up in arms. Continue reading Earth Goddess statue in Cornwall deemed ‘offensive to God’ by Christian leaders at The Wild Hunt.

EBWA Calendar 2022-2023 Evening Branch of the Women’s Alliance Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady 1221 Wendell Avenue, Schenectady, NY   Sept. 29  “Edmonia Lewis: Sculptor of Determination and Courage” with Bobbie Reno, East Greenbush Town Historian, author and illustrator. Oct. 27  “Genetic Genealogy ... read more . The post EBWA Calendar 2022-2023 appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

The notion of awe combines reverence, respect, fear, and wonder. It can be inspiring, or overwhelming. It can be uplifting or frightening. When have you felt awe?

    Millions of families living in America face hunger and food insecurity every day. Your neighbor, child’s classmate or even coworker may be struggling to get enough to eat. Feeding America     Hunger in America is growing. In the wake of COVID-19, unemployment and food insecurity soared, and an estimated 60 million people turned to food banks and community programs for assistance in 2020 alone. Children and adults face hunger in every community across the country, and millions read more... The post September Action Alert: Hunger in America — How You Can Help appeared first on Promise the Children.

The sermon I preached for Covenant Sunday 2022.

Yesterday we held a special box making class for folks from the Fayetteville VA as part of their recreational therapy program. We had a great time making cedar boxes. We will have another series of classes for Veterans on Nov. 19. Registration is not open yet. You can find more information here: https://essa-art.org/events/veterans-appreciation-day/ I will be teaching. Guess what... wait for it... Box Making.  Make, fix, create. Assist others in learning likewise.

James Gordon Bennett, the cross-eyed publisher in 1851. James Gordon Bennett , Sr ., born this day in 1795 in Newmill,Banffshire, Scotland, was so cross-eyed that one acquaintance said, “when he looked at me with one eye, he looked out at the City Hall with the other.”  Yet he saw far enough to revolutionize American journalism in several ways for good and ill. Bennet was born into a prosperous Catholic family which was devout enough to give him a good education in hopes that he would enter the priesthood.   He entered a seminary in Aberdeen at age 15 and remained there for four years.  But the restless lad was not cut out for the restraints of the cloth.  He undertook a series of rambles about Scotland while reading voraciously...

  Edgar Rice Burroughs was born on this day, the 1st of September, in 1875. He died in 1950. I was two years old. A decade later, or close to it, a friend and I were rummaging through some boxes of magazines and books looking for old copies of my father’s stash of Playboys. I’ve […]

(updated May 27, 2022) Friends, The current case-load in Los Alamos County has passed the threshold that we set for what we consider to be in the safety zone. After consultation with the COVID Safety Team, we will be *requiring* masking for all people ages 3 and up while in the building. Coffee hour will …<p> Live In-person Worship Resumes! Read More »

My Guide to Woodworking with Kids has been translated and published in German with copies available on Amazon.de The title is Holzwerken mit Kindern and it is my third book translated and published in German by the publisher, Holzwerken. In the meantime, I had a fine day at ESSA making cedar boxes with a group from the Fayetteville VA. I'll share photos of that tomorrow. Make, fix and create. Assist others in learning likewise.

Concerns over a vendor with a past conviction as a sex offender involving children resulted in a clergy member resigning and calling for greater awareness and more preparedness in addressing issues with past sex offenders. Continue reading Clergy member resigns from Circle Sanctuary after raising sex offender concerns at The Wild Hunt.

This group focuses on Church members, friends, and the community. It provides a way to share joys, sorrows, milestones, dreams, travel stories, and Church community announcements. Group members may also exchange produce/items/services or request information and referrals.

Evacuated Afghans should not be left in legal limbo more than a year after U.S. withdrawal.

Sarah Skochko There is no such thing as unskilled labor. Continue reading "Your Life Could Depend on It"

Hippocrates, a Greek physician from 400 BC, was one of the first to use music to help heal his patients.  It has been said that Hippocrates prescribed a session of harp playing to relieve depression.  Feeling anxious?  Try a drumming session! -Beth Murray (CLF) When has music made a powerful impact on you?

“Toward a Buddhisto-Christian Religion” by Charles Hartshorne (1897-2000) (from “Buddhism and American Thinkers”, eds. Kenneth K. Inada and Nolan P. Jacobson, State University of New York Press, 1984, pp. 1-13). A digital copy of this essay can be borrowed at the following link: https://archive.org/details/buddhismamerican0000unse/page/10/mode/2up A recording of Hartshorne giving a version of this essay can be heard at the following link: https://archive.org/details/hartshorneabuddhistchristianphil Hartshorne’s connection with the Unitarian movement can be read about at the following link: https://uudb.org/articles/charleshartshorne.html —o0o— Prefatory Remarks to Charles Hartshorn’s Essay (Kenneth K. Inada and Nolan P. ...

How do we prepare for Tower Time? How do we make our way through it? With our eyes wide open, our intellect fully engaged, and our magic running wide open.

      CHAN: ITS MEANING FOR MODERN CIVILIZATION Shin’ichi Hisamatsu Chan means Emancipation and Construction As to the question, “What is Chan?” if one is to be brief, it may perhaps suffice to utter just one word or, indeed, to utter no word at all. If, however, one is to elaborate, it may be […]

  Jail Brakers , the program that offers support and services to the familiesof incarcerated individuals, and the experts at Prairie State Legal Servicesare offering a special sealing and expungement of cannabis records andconvictions presentation at the McHenry County Board of Health office, 620 Dakota Street, Crystal Lake on Saturday, September 3 from 2 to 5 pm.   Use the main entrance at the rear of the building. After the State of Illinois legalized recreational use of cannabis—marijuana—the Legislature passed an automatic expungement of the records of those convicted of simple possession of small amounts of the drug.   Many others, however, convicted of possession of larger quantities and/or sale and distribution are required...

A recent Sunday morning, the Rev. Scott Sammler-Michael, senior co-minister of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair, NJ had us thinking. He asked, “What would you say God is? What would you say God is not?” in his similarly titled sermon. There were many different responses to these questions and all like-minded and agreeable to […] The post My Pagan view of the deities — what God is and what they are not appeared first on Nature's Sacred Journey.

The  myōgō/nembutsu is at the top and centre At the end of July, as some of you know, we at the Cambridge Unitarian Church were pleased and honoured to welcome Enrique Galvan-Alvarez a Jodo Shinshu scholar and priest ordained at the Nishi Hongan-ji temple in Kyoto, Japan. Enrique had joined us for many of the Wednesday Evening Conversations during which, since January, between six and ten of us explored the classic Jodo Shinshu text, “The Tannisho.” Enrique’s deep knowledge of the Jodo Shinshu tradition were invaluable to our conversations as was his openness to the traditions, insights and concerns of our own Unitarian, Free Christian and Universalist tradition.  L. to R. Me, Susanna, Riena and Enrique As I have mentioned else...

The droughts being experienced around the globe have revealed both archaeological wonders and stark reminders of history. Continue reading A round-up of ancient and modern objects revealed by drought at The Wild Hunt.

Hello UUSS, This is the beginning of our sixth year serving as your Co-ministers! We are so grateful to have had a bit of time of vacation to rest a bit and connect with friends and family. Our time of study leave gifted us with some much ... read more . The post Co-Ministers’ Colloquy – August 30th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

2022-23 Religious Education classes begin on Sunday, 9/25! To register your child(ren), click HERE . Below is a list of this year’s awesome RE offerings. Please note that this is a tentative schedule while we’re inviting folks to teach, facilitate, and advise. A final schedule will ... read more . The post Religious Education News – August 30th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

You cannot make somebody else heal, or do the healing work for them. It is hard to watch people we love struggle, but it is important to remember that there is no timeline, no deadline, and healing is different for everybody. -Marin Smith (CLF) How do you make space for others to heal?

When the tired bones settle downupon the cliffsto see the greatest show on gaiabeyond the watercolor imaginationof an unheralded genius so ends the day, blue keep aloft in the skiesthe sun makes its retreat past mountain rangesto illuminate other places over the vast oceanthe gold-dust scattered deepens and the far cornerbecomes indigo then violet beauty, … Continue reading "Journey’s end"

    The 30th of August the ever delightful Episcopal Church celebrates a feast in honor of the life and ministry of Charles Chapman Grafton. I wrote about him a couple of years ago. And it feels time to revisit… Born a Boston brahman in 1830, Grafton was educated at Philips Academy and Harvard College. […]

                                               Fashionable and foppish young Henry Bergh returning from Europe. Henry Bergh  was a softy.  A sentimental fool who could not abide to witness the sufferingsof animals and small, helpless creatures.  And that made him a damned annoyance, and worse, a meddlesome nuisance to honest men who were simply trying to get the most out of livestock that God had clearly given them dominion over.  It said so right in the  Bible,  didn’t it?  To make matters worse he was richer than Croesus and had money to burn and spread around courts and newspapers to persecute men for doing as they saw fit with their own damned property!  And he was sl...

On the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, we urge the Biden administration to do more to end this pattern of human rights violations.

In this week's Pagan Community Notes, FOX News downplays aggression at Pagan events, U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercept canopic jars and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of August 28, 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

Healing always takes time – whether it’s a cut or a scratch or a relationship that needs attention and listening and understanding.  We must be patient and do the work required to allow for healing. -Judy DiCristofaro (CLF)