The Thanksgiving holiday reminds us that the history of this nation is rooted in colonialism, genocide, and a fundamental denial of human rights. But there's plenty of hope for a better future.

The World Cup in Qatar holds significant challenges for visitors from western countries, especially when it comes to any religious discipline, like Paganism or Witchcraft, that are not recognized or worse, criminalized, by the Qatari government. Continue reading The World Cup host: What Pagans should know about the do’s and don’ts of Qatar at The Wild Hunt.

A Q&A with Alexandra Lytton Regalado | For a long time, it was either the camera or the pen. If I managed to express myself visually, there was no need to describe it in writing. But now, I use both processes to dig deeper, although I haven’t been able to combine the two just yet; each medium still stands on its own. I carry around my obsessions, my questions, and when something nips at my attention, I spend a lot of time trying to unravel what it is about that image that has me hooked.

cristy cardinal Queer joy is resistance. Continue reading "Long May They Wave"

          When I lived in the Zen monastery in Oakland, I served on the jisha team responsible among other things for hosting guests. So, no surprise when the roshi told me we were getting a VIP visitor. His name was Samuel Lewis, and while he was mostly known as a Sufi […]

I struggle with an “I” mentality and have made many fruitless attempts at achieving or overcoming things on my own, only to realize that utilizing others and accepting help is the true answer.  You could even go as far as to say incorporating communities into one’s life is a survival instinct.  -David Johnson (CLF) How … Continue reading Survival

I used my new design cross-cut/miter sled on Saturday with a class in Wichita, and it worked great. In fact, I used making it as a demonstration for the class. Having only one runner allows it to be moved from one miter gauge track to the other and so as a quick introduction to the use of a sled it seems to be a winner.  I would still opt for the reliability of a two runner sled for my regular shop work, but this will be something to demonstrate to get box makers started. The adjustable sled runner that I had featured on the FineWoodworking website was a help. https://www.finewoodworking.com/2022/10/05/adjustable-sled-runners Making the sled less deep front to back allowed me to use an adjustable stop to control movement of the sled on ...

I stood at the edge of the woods behind my house watching the squirrels, several sets, racing across mountains of leaves and up and down a dozen trees. Their noise ruffling of the leaves grabbed my attention as soon as … Continue reading →

The ancient cornucopia has become a symbol of harvest plenty and blessings for American Thanksgiving. Note —This year the annual Clan Thanksgiving gathering will not be held at the Murfin Estate in Crystal Lake, but at my church, the Tree of Life UU Congregation in McHenry.   There are just getting to be too many of us to squeeze into the small front room even with furniture piled in bedrooms.   But many if not most of Murfin’s Thanksgiving Rules will still be in force. I have posted my Murfin’s Thanksgiving Rules before, but on Thanksgivingitself when everyone is too busy with preparations, entertaining, dinner, and cleaning up to read them.   I have been scolded for this.   “Damn it, Murfin!   Why didn’t you post this wh...

Some people in Scotland have started a Radical Bird Club. Here is part of their manifesto: “RBC strives to be inclusive* to adults** of any age, class, sexuality, race & ability. you don’t even have to know anything about birds. it’s just walking, talking, observing, listening & being with other people who want to appreciate … Continue reading "Radical Bird Club"

  Taken with a Fujifilm X100V Just click on the photo to enlarge it On rainy days like this I never fail to start singing the Beatle song Rain to myself. It always helps . . . Taken on New Square, Cambridge on Monday 21st November 2022 . . . straight out of camera using the Acros Dark recipe by Marcel Fraij. Rain (Lennon & McCartney) If the rain comes they run and hide their heads They might as well be dead If the rain comes, if the rain comes When the sun shines they slip into the shade (when the sun shines down) And sip their lemonade (when the sun shines down) When the sun shines, when the sun shines Rain, I don’t mind Shine, the weather’s fine I can show you that when it starts to rain (when the rain comes down) Everything’s ...

Some members of the local Christian community in Tuscumbia are opposed to a Yule festival, and expressed views against freedom of religion. Continue reading Tuscumbia “Festival of Yule” opposed by Christians at The Wild Hunt.

By Ruth Behar | When I called myself a vulnerable observer twenty-five years ago, most other scholars looked at me askance. The word “vulnerable” wasn’t on everyone’s lips then, so it always took a moment for colleagues to realize that it could be used in a positive way as something to be embraced rather than avoided at all costs. But since the 1990s, the word “vulnerable” has gone through a boom in the English language. We hear the word daily, referring to people, the environment, the planet.

“Community means strength that joins our strength to do the work that needs to be done. Arms to hold us when we falter. A circle of healing. A circle of friends. Someplace where we can be free.” -Starhawk, from Dreaming the Dark: Magic, Sex, and Politics Who holds you when you falter? “La comunidad significa … Continue reading Strength

Youtube has a policy on monetization from advertising that requires 4,000 hours of watching before payments are made to the contents creator. My own channel statistics are well under that minimum, so the advertising dollars are made by youtube and not by me. https://www.youtube.com/mr+Doug+Stowe  Please help me to cross the threshold by watching my videos and sharing them with others. The videos include woodworking with kids as well as the full contents of my three DVD's, Rustic Furniture Basics, Basic Box Making, and Building Small Cabinets. If you are a woodworker, watch. If you know a woodworker, share. Ten minutes here or ten minutes there can add up and your time will not be wasted. Make, fix and create.

New Yorkers gobbled up hastily printed extra editions as they gathered in shock on the city streets. November 22 .  For the members of a couple of generations, at least, I don’t have to say or write anything else.  You know.  The date and the event are etched in your mind.  If you were sentient in 1963 the moment when you heard the news is so solidly etched in your memory that you can recall every detail—the cast of the light through the window, the muffled sobs or wails, even the smell of that autumn day 58 years ago. November 22, 1963 was, of course, the day President John F. Kennedy was shot while passing the Texas School Book Depository Building in Dallas, Texas in an open car wi...

The more we allow ourselves to accept what is happening all around us,The more we can experience the ecstatic state of blissThat comes from feeling it all, being one with it all, no judgement,  no thought,just pure presence with it all Allowing … Continue reading →

2022 American Thanksgiving Prayer Beloved, may we give thanks in every day, and be reasons for others to give thanks. May we know collective secular holidays for what they are, and embrace needed rest, needed connections, needed generous joy, and needed space from demanding expectations. May we learn how to...

Some Christians insist that the Earth is unique and the only place where “intelligent” life can exist, because to think otherwise would upset their theology. Meanwhile, Paganism has no problem incorporating people from other worlds – and their Gods.

In this week's Pagan Community Notes, some Alabamans object to Yule festival as "Satanic," new discovery in Egypt, an update on Oak Flat, and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of November 21, 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

Young Waldo William Emerson, distinguished minister of Boston’s First Church, drew his congregation with him into Unitarianism. So Ralph Waldo, born in 1803, the fourth of William’s eight children, grew up in a climate that prized learning, and culture – and became, himself, a Unitarian minister. William died when Waldo was age 8, and the family was plunged into poverty. His Aunt Mary, William’s sister, was Waldo’s dominant influence. She taught him aphorisms he would teach his children: "Lift your aims." "Always do what you are afraid to do." "Despise trifles." "Turn up your nose at glory, honor, and money." "Oh, blessed, blessed poverty." She introduced Waldo to Hindu scriptures and Neoplatonism, and her openness to natural r...

Lóre Stevens Food can be an avenue in the struggle against climate change and for climate justice.

The holiday season has arrived! Make plans to engage in your favorite holiday traditions at All Souls, or try something new this year. Here’s what’s coming up: December Events Tree Trimming & Hanging of the Greens & Lighting of theLabyrinthSunday, December 4 | 4-6 pmCome together for a soup dinner and ornament-making, tree trimming, and caroling and our newest holiday tradition: the lighting of the labyrinth! Please bring cookies for sharing. Holiday Choir ConcertSunday, December 11 | 4 pmJoin us for an incredible concert of holiday music, featuring All Souls choirs, from our tiniest voices through adults—Cherub Choir, Children’s Choir, Youth Choir, […] The post December Holidays at All Souls appeared first on BeyondBelief.

UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray responds to the devastating news of a shooting in Colorado that was a targeted act of violence against the LGBTQIA+ community. Continue reading "From the UUA President: Our LGBTQIA+ Siblings are Sacred, Whole and Divine"

Emerson Re-defines Us “Channing’s Baltimore Sermon, Emerson’s Divinity School Address, and Parker’s South Boston Sermon have long been accepted as the three great classic utterances of American Unitarianism.” (Conrad Wright, Three Prophets of Religious Liberalism )All three were widely controversial – and widely influential. William Ellery Channing’s Baltimore Sermon, “Unitarian Christianity,” in 1819 was the manifesto that launched and defined Unitarianism as a new denomination. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Divinity School Address in 1838 spoke for a new generation. Channing had defined us, and Emerson re-defined us. Invited to address the graduating class of Harvard’s Divinity School, Emerson, then 35 years old, delivere...

“The universe sings no less because time and space wear us thin. The music calls us to recognize our limitations, to recognize that the song is best sung with others.”-Manish Mishra-Marzetti How can you join your voice with others today? “El universo no deja de cantar porque el tiempo y el espacio nos desgasten. La … Continue reading The Song

                              A poster from the original 1934 production of Anything Goes . On November 21, 1934 a silly froth of a musical farce opened at Broadway’s Alvin Theater featuring a tiny, but leather lunged diva-to-be named Ethel Merman.  Cole Porter’s Anything Goes has gone on to be oft revived in New York,London, and in the movies on the basis of its silly romance at sea plotand the composer’s classic songs. The book by Guy Bolton and P. G.Woodhouse spun a romantic intrigue and classical farce misunderstanding aboard the liner S.S. American and featured the antics of Billy Crocker, a stowaway in love with heiress Hope Harcourt, who was engaged to Lord Evelyn Oakleigh while nightclub singer Reno Sween...

I have had so many changes in my life, some I welcomed and some I did not. I have to say that change is not an easy topic for me. One of the changes that was difficult for me is … Continue reading →

This evening, we are still processing the mass murder at Club Q in Colorado Springs overnight even as we commemorate all the trans beloveds whose lives have been stolen on this Trans Day of Remembrance. Tonight, we are reminded yet again of the violence that lies at the core of white Christian nationalism, whether in the form of guns aimed at our queer and trans beloveds, or legislation designed to criminalize our very existence. We at Side With Love will continue to fight for a world in which all bodies are treated as sacred; to join our UPLIFT Action campaign for LGBTQ+, Gender & Reproductive Justice, click here .  To our beloved trans and queer family, If your heart is broken, we weep with you.  May you sense how fiercely you are he...

I had a great day yesterday with the Sunflower Woodworker's Guild in Wichita, Kansas. Using the GoCreate  https://gocreate.com/maker facility on the Wichita State University Campus, I made boxes while club members watched attentively, and were kind enough to listen to me as I offered woodworking tips and talked about how we learn. If you want to join a community within your community that shares a life-long love of learning, please look for your local woodworking club and join up. Woodworkers across the board are kind and generous. They usually have public service projects to benefit their communities, and love sharing their passions and ideas with each other. I want to thank the Sunflower Woodworking Guild http://www.sunflowerwoodworke...

TWH commemorates Trans Day of Remembrance, 2022, acknowledging the disproportionate violence against trans people. Continue reading Transgender Day of Remembrance 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

      THE GOOSE IN THE BOTTLEExploring the Possibilities of Interspiritual Dialogue A Sermon delivered at theFirst Congregational Church of Long Beach United Church of Christ 20 November 2022 James Ishmael Ford First, thank you so much for welcoming me into your community. If you don’t know we Unitarian Universalists and especially the Congregationalist […]

I must have hiked by this madrone tree more than 20 times, but just noticed this week that is only one tree, not a bunch of trees. The root ball creates a large mound in the earth. Whether from fire or wind, or a ranger clearing the trail, the original tree was likely damaged somehow, […]

Our Thanksgiving tradition returns. Join us as we break bread together and celebrate the ties that bind.

Communities support one another. Communities provide mutual aid to one another. How does mutual aid happen in your community? How can you provide or receive it? Las comunidades se apoyan unas a otras. Las comunidades se brindan ayuda mutua. ¿Cómo sucede la ayuda mutua en tu comunidad? ¿Cómo puedes proporcionarla o recibirla?

Maybe because their namesand faces get lost in the grim glut of crime reporting. Maybe because no one knew their story—or their secret.  Maybe it’s because the Guardians at the gate want to protect our tender sensibilities.  Maybe it’s because outside of “those people” no one cares.  Or maybe it’s because some see a kind of rough justice acted out on the streetsand prefer to let it go on as they used to whistle-by-the-graveyard the dark at lynchings that kept Black folk in their place. But someone must remember these Transgender people murdered every year simply because of who they are.  According to transrespect.org: … a total of 369 cases of reported killings of Trans and gender-diverse people between 1st o...

Our magic works some of the time – why doesn’t it work all the time? In my experience – both first-hand and second-hand – there are five main reasons why spells and other magical workings don’t generate the results we want.

   Click here for Dorianne Low's story of her incredible travels all over the world.

Please join us this Sunday (20 November 2022) at 11:00 AM for our annual Thanksgiving worship service, ritual of gratitude, and potluck feast. We will begin in the sanctuary for this worship service.  Please join us in person at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 9449 Ellerbe Road, Shreveport LA  71106 if you are able to do … Continue reading "All-Ages Worship (20 November 2022)"

Due to the special Thanksgiving worship service and the associated potluck lunch, we will not have children and youth religious education classes today.

Please join us on Sunday (20 November 2022) as we continue our adult religious education class at 9:00 AM for “WhUU Dat” via Zoom and facilitated by Susan Caldwell and Barbara Deger continuing our discussion of the Unitarian Universalist Pocket Guide. This week’s readings include the the readings in the section “Our Religious Education” and … Continue reading "Online Adult Religious Education — 20 November 2022"

Please join us next Tuesday (22 November 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.

Storm Faerywolf discusses the increasing numbers of queer politicians elected to office in the United States, and how they played a pivotal role in the U.S. midterm elections. Continue reading Opinion: How the “Rainbow Wave” Changed the Story of the Midterm Election at The Wild Hunt.

    It was on this day, the 19th of November, at the dedication of a graveyard at Gettysburg, after the keynote speaker the remarkable Unitarian clergyman Reverend Edward Evertt held forth for two hours; that President Abraham Lincoln stood and spoke two hundred and eighty five words…

Ralph Chaplin, then the editor of the  Industrial Worker,  wrote this poem, later set to music.  Pictured is Frank Little, the tough IWW hard rock miners organizer who was lynched in   Butte, Montana in 1917. For many of us November is a melancholy month .   Often slate gray skies silhouette naked trees in a chilling wind.   Death seems at hand.   But so is its handmaiden—remembrance.   After all, the month begins with All Souls/Day of the Dead when the memories of ancestors and loved ones are honored.   English school children still chant “Remember, Remember the Fifth of November,” now a harmless nursery rhyme about Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot but was once an annual call to riot and mayhem against Catholics not only...

“As drops of rain that find each other and build to become a track, a rivulet, a stream, a river, a sea, so are we drawn together; so are we fortunate to find each other; so are we bound together, on this shared passage toward an unknown ocean and eternity.” -Elizabeth Lerner Maclay Who are … Continue reading Bound Together

Please join us for the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance Service on Saturday (19 November 2022) at 2:00 PM in the All Souls sanctuary. Join us as we remember those lost to violence in 2021 and 2022. Because their spirits live on when we speak their true names in love. The service is offered by … Continue reading "Transgender Day of Remembrance Service (19 November 2022)"

Please join us on Saturday (19 November 2022) from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM for our monthly building and grounds work day. There will be tasks for all ages and abilities — indoors and out.

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

In an interview with Religion News Service, author Liz Bucar talks about the difference between religious (mis)appropriation, and religious borrowing: “Religious borrowing has always existed. It’s certainly a big part of the way religion in America is experienced and consumed, especially if you think about the spiritual but not religious or the nones. Some forms … Continue reading "Borrowing vs. appropriation"

By Meghan Privitello and Abbey Clements | When a child hears gunshots, she will say Mom is beating the pots and pans. She will say It sounds like home. Let’s keep it this way; our children misinterpreting the sound of dying as a crude percussion.

Alan D.D. shares a folk story about a ghostly mule and the lessons it teaches about discernment. Continue reading La Mula Maneada: Corruption, Hate, and Forgiveness at The Wild Hunt.

Alan D.D. shares a folk story about a ghostly mule and the lessons it teaches about discernment. Continue reading La Mula Maneada: Corrupción, Odio, y Perdón at The Wild Hunt.

UUSC commemorates the lives of those lost to anti-trans violence globally.

      When the song of the angels is stilled,when the star in the sky is gone,when the kings and princes are home,when the shepherds are back with their flocks,the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost,to heal the broken,to feed the hungry,to release the prisoner,to rebuild the nations,to bring peace among the […]

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 belong to a long-standing, liberal, free and inquiring religious tradition that has continually hoped it would be possible to create an as inclusive and simple a form of religion as possible. Within this tradition the idea got its initial impetus from the example of Jesus who, perhaps building on the example of Rabbi Hillel, attempted radically to simplify the voluminous and complex commandments and teachings of his own Jewish faith as follows: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your ...

There is nothing quite as special as knocking on your neighbors door to borrow a cup of sugar and they send you home with sugar and a slice of homemade red velvet cake. -JeKaren Olaoya (CLF) How can you reach out to a neighbor today? No hay nada tan especial como tocar a la puerta … Continue reading A Cup Of Sugar

                         Joe Hill in a photo taken in prison awaiting his execution. One hundred and seven years ago on November 19, 1915 Utah authorities took Joe Hill from his prison cell, tied him to a straight back chair, blindfolded him and pinned a paper heart on his chest.  Then, in accordance with the local custom a firing squad of five men, four of them with live rounds in their rifles and one with a blank, perforated that paper valentine. No one was better at setting words to popular or sacred songs for use in educatingand rousing up workers than Joseph Hillstrom, a Swedish immigrant who drifted into the migratory labor life of the American West shortly after the dawn of the 20th Century. He was born as Joel Hä...

Coming and going My life is change The religion of my childhood Rearranged Coming and going My belief not clear My questions need answers Whispers sound near Coming and going Where is my song Where do I fit Will I … Continue reading →

Prayer for the Very Sure - Week of November 21, 2022 Lover of the Fallible, the Imperfect, and the Fearful-of-Being-Found-Not-Enough, invite us again to put down the posturing and lean into the reality of our enoughness without perfection, our lovableness without needing to know everything, our belonging without needing to...

As many of you will know from many of the pieces on this blog (often given as Sunday addresses/thoughts for the day to the congregation of the Cambridge Unitarian Church) I have again and again foregrounded the need for our liberal, free and enquiring religion consciously to adopt a philosophy of motion/movement so we can engage ever more effectively and appropriately with the world as it is now showing up to us through the modern natural sciences. Just type the word “motion” in the search box on this blog to pull up a few of the more explicit examples of what I have written, or simply click on THIS LINK which will do the same thing. A key figure for me in my exploration has been Thomas Nail who has written extensively on the subject...

Several new research studies involving bees have plenty to buzz about! Continue reading Electric honeybee swarms, bumblebee toys, and more buzz: Unleash the bees! at The Wild Hunt.

The UUA joins a coalition of religious organizations and members of clergy to oppose Alabama's SB 184, a bill that criminalized providing gender-affirming medical care for trans youth. Continue reading "UUA Files Coalition Amicus Brief to Support Trans Youth Seeking Gender-Affirming Care in Alabama: Amicus Brief Supports Plaintiffs in Eknes-Tucker et al v. Gov. of the State of Alabama et al."

Thank you so much for signing up for “Community Conversation”, the third and final workshop in our series on “Climate Resilience through Disaster Response & Community Care”. Whether you attended in real-time or plan to watch the recording later, we are grateful for your commitment to building communities of care in the face of climate disasters. View the recording Recording and materials for Session 1 Recording and materials for Session 2 Next Steps How can we continue to grow community around climate disaster preparedness and response?  What do UUs need to foster communities of care in the face of climate change?  How can we work together to cultivate thriving communities?   Tell us what you need!   Thank you for engaging i...

“I put my faith in you. I put my faith in every one of you who woke up this morning with the weight of loss—manifesting as numbness, anger, fear, or an alienating, aching pain. I put my faith in you, and I pray you will put your faith in me. We need one another now, … Continue reading The Weight of Loss

My mental health has been compromised. Ah! The changes my mind has gone through is overwhelming. My mind can be my worst enemy.   I take antidepressants and antianxiety pills. I didn’t need the pills before cancer. The pills keep me … Continue reading →

                                           This illustration gives William Tell the full 19th Century Romantic treatment. On November 18, 1307 Wilhelm Tell, who may or may not have existed, allegedly shot an apple off the head off his trembling son with his trusty crossbow on the orders of a tyrannical local Austrian official or Bailiff who may, or may not, have existed.  Subsequently Tell may, or may not, have assassinated the villain and led a rebellion that led to the creation of the Old Swiss Confederacy.  Or so the story goes. Known to the English speaking world as William Tell and Napoleonic Era European romantics as Guillaume Tell, he became a heroic symbol of Swiss independence, revolutionary resistanc...

    Click here for Karen Sheahan's deeply personal story about her and her sisters.

    Click here for MaryMargaret Halsey's beautiful personal story of "Nature"

Some links from my recent web browsing: Are We Allies? Foluke Ifejola Adebisi has an excellent blog post on “the concept of allyship against injustice.” In other words, what does it mean to be a “white ally,” or any other kind of ally? Adebisi makes an intersting disctintion between allyship as being, and allyship as doing: … Continue reading "Recent web browsing"

Today my Kindergarten students (our rainbow group) made boxes to hold the sets of Froebel blocks that they made last week. They have been using Froebel blocks that my older students made in their classroom so these blocks will be ones that they can take home. Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning likewise.

A recently discovered bronze artifact called the Hand of Irulegi may offer insights into the Basque language and the ancient tribe called Vascones. Continue reading “When they told me what it was, tears flooded my eyes:” Discovery may hold secrets of the Basque language at The Wild Hunt.

Yesterday felt like the true turning of the seasons, from warm autumn 70 degree days to a chilly, almost winter, high of 40 degrees. We had a freeze overnight and the pond surface was wrinkled with ice forming. I went around the yard putting away the last garden hose, the five-gallon buckets, the little tables […]

Sunday, November 20 Visiting Stow/Acton ~  Services at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Join us in person (masked) or online. Links and details below. “This is a time of celebration for you – celebrating an anniversary of a beginning for the White man in America. A time of looking back, of reflection. It is with a   [ … ] The post Sunday, November 20 ~ Visiting Stow/Acton ~ 10:00 a.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

There is a scene in Shakespeare’s Macbeth in which a character approaches the three witches, asking them to foretell his future. He implores, If you can look into the seeds of time, And say which grain will grow and which will not, Speak then to me…. (Act 1, Scene 5) There are so many ways […]

JD Stillwater Little changes can snowball into massive impacts. Continue reading "Small Decisions"

The United States’ new climate commitments at COP27 may sound promising, but their actions behind the scenes tell a different story.

A lot of ministry is done not in the congregation but out in the community. Chaplains attend to the spiritual health of patients in hospitals and servicemembers in the military. Community ministers feed the hungry, house the homeless, and heal the sick. They educate, advocate, and agitate. We honor all of the ways that community … Continue reading Community Ministry

On the spiral path, Change is embraced As a necessary part of growth As we circle around each season again We notice the subtle ways we have changed And the wisdom we have gained We celebrate and grieve The gains … Continue reading →

I’m not going to tell you where I plan to move – the right place for me may not be the right place for you. Instead, I want to talk about the process of deciding where to move: for opportunities, for politics, and to avoid the worse of climate change.

        Last year on this day, the 16th of November, I wrote a small appreciation of Alan. Watts. He died on this day in 1973. And I find it not a bad time to pause and think of him. Watts remains an important figure in my life. And, more important I think […]

  Taken with a Fujifilm X100F Just click on the photo to enlarge it    One of my favourite walks from the centre of Cambridge takes me through Ditton Meadows by the River Cam an on into the small village of Fen Ditton. This photo, taken in May 2021, looks back at Ditton Meadows from the village at the very end of the High Street. It was as near a perfect spring day as it is possible to experience here in dear Old Blighty. 

Back then the culture took a sometimes amused, sometimes encouraging view of children fighting.  Boys will be boys, that sort of thing, and a feeling that it would "toughen 'em up"   and that the victims of bullies could only be redeemed by standing up to their tormentors. Note— This Cheyenne memoir peace originated and was adapted from a presentation at a Panel on Peace at what was then still the Congregational Unitarian Church of Woodstock on November 30, 2008 and which was first posted on the blog in this form in 2012.  I pretty much defined the word dork. That was the preferred term, way back when, for guys who would now be called nerds.  Back in the sixth grade at Eastridge Elementary School in Cheyenne, Wyoming, I was the pa...

November 15 is "America Recycles Day" but how do Pagans and others think about recycling when it comes to personal and spiritual practices? Continue reading America Recycles Day: Pagan research on Eco-Friendly Behavior at The Wild Hunt.

“From the light of days remembered burns a beacon bright and clear, guiding hands and hearts and spirits into faith set free from fear.” These words by Mary Katherine Morn call us to acknowledge the past that we have inherited. The beacon hasn’t always been ... read more . The post Co-Ministers’ Colloquy – Nov. 15th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Jan Gartner The UUA offers a Congregational Salary Program as a service to congregational leaders. We're introducing a fresh approach, including an emphasis on process and a new structure for our Recommended Salary Ranges. Continue reading "Congregational Salary Program"

The Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt has been nominated for UUA President by the Presidential Search Committee. Learn more about the candidate and find links to the candidate's website and social media. Continue reading "Candidate for UUA President: the Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt"

The UUA Presidential Search Committee announces their nomination of the Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt, an experienced leader and theologian in Unitarian Universalism, for UUA President for the 2023-2029 term. Continue reading "Presidential Search Committee Nominates Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt for UUA President"

The UUA Board shares its thoughts on the Presidential Search Committee's nominated candidate for UUA President. Continue reading "Board Statement on the Presidential Search Committee's Nomination for UUA President"

(Or a depression pit, As my wife half-jokingly calls it, Hoping to remind me Not to get to comfortable, that I can’t stay too long) But the nice thing is If you tuck yourself in just right, If your toes are all covered and you’re properly warm and cozy and finally starting to calm down […]

I’ve noticed that sometimes when we talk about the 8th Principle, the whole idea of decolonizing our minds or actively challenging systems of oppression in ourselves and our institutions can seem super daunting. The way we have all been raised in white supremacy culture is a truly daunting issue, but it’s important to remember that […]

World leaders gathering in Egypt for the annual UN climate summit must reject corporate-backed false solutions.

Maplewood Shop is helping schools adopt woodworking in schools and is featured in this video from CBS in NYC. A great demonstration of its value. In the meantime I'm getting things ready to teach box making with the Sunflower Woodworker's Guild in Wichita on Saturday and a presentation on Friday night. Make, fix and create.

    In this world there have always been many opinions about faith and salvation. You need not think alike to love alike. There must be knowledge in faith also. Sanctified reason is the lantern of faith. Religious reform can never be all at once, but gradually step by step. If they offer something better, […]

On this day after the election, we are feeling so grateful for all of you who participated in #UUtheVote, writing cards and letters, text banking, phone banking, knocking on doors, registering voters, being a poll worker, painting messages on stones to “rock the vote”, and ... read more . The post Co-Ministers’ Colloquy – Nov. 9th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

The Green Sanctuary team is collecting the following items requested by the Schenectady Community Ministries: 2023 calendars, holiday/ Christmas cards their guests can send out, Children’s books, and yarn for their Hamilton Hill Senior Knitting Circle. You may bring donations to the Green Sanctuary table ... read more . The post Green Sanctuary Collecting 2023 Calendars for SiCM appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Once again D4$ will deliver homecooked Lasagna meals to raise money for people in need. We will reach out to girls around the world who struggle to stay in school during their menses. The MoonCatcher Project provides free reusable menstrual kits to change the lives of ... read more . The post 16th Annual Dining for Dollars Benefit December 13-14, 2022 – Volunteers needed! appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.