Not the World Wide Web, but the infinite, all that is, was and ever will be Web of Life? Is it love that holds all of “THIS” together? Is the illusion of separation and our transactional culture pulling this web … Continue reading →

Cindy Fesgen invites us to light our chalices “cherishing our differences and holding each other in sacredness.” So much of friendship is cherishing what makes us different from each other, and still finding the sacred things that connect us. How do you cherish differences?

Long before Rihanna,  i n 1972 Ella Fitzgerald sang  Mac the Knife  with trumpeter Al Hirt at Super Bowl VI in New Orleans as part of a tribute to Louis Armstrong.  Broadway star Carol Channing also performed.  They became the first celebrity artists to perform at the Super Bowl and Ella was the first Black woman.   Ella Fitzgerald is regarded by many as the greatest female singer of the 20th Century and there is plenty of competition.  Her career spanned decades from a novelty song specialist as a teenager to the undisputed First Lady of Song.  She sang with big bands, invented scat singing, moved seamlessly to jazz improvisation in the bebop era, and reinterpreted the canon of the Great American Songbook introducing generation...

Spell work is not just waving your hands; rattle off some words and voila. This was one of many reasons I left Catholicism: I was just blindly going through the motions; no feelings involved. Spell and work are two words that may look and sound easy. However, it’s the second word that is more important […] The post Spell work is not hocus pocus – it takes intent and effort appeared first on Nature's Sacred Journey.

Conservative lawyer David French is now writing a column for the New York Times. Yoicks. A conservative writing for the bastion of liberalism in the U.S.? Well, according to this opinion piece, French had the temerity to stand up for his “commitment to the classical liberal ideal of government as neutral guarantor of free expression … Continue reading "To all my progressive friends and compatriots"

In this week's Pagan Community Notes: Cornell apologizes to the Oneida Indian Nation, a jury foreperson accused of being a witch, upcoming events, and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of February 27, 2023 at The Wild Hunt.

 Disclosure: Some of the links below (whether the link is associated with an image or text) are affiliate links, meaning that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.  My Christian Fellowship group at church has just started reading Karen Armstrong's A CASE FOR GOD.  In her introduction, she states her intent to show through history that humans have always wanted to know more about the transcendent, no matter what it is called or how it is defined.  To prepare for reading more, I listened to a radio interview Ms. Armstrong gave to NPR in September 2009. This is the final exchange between Terry Gross of "Fresh Air" and Ms. Armstrong: GROSS: Now, you know, your view of religion is...

A Zen Meditation on Christian Communion James Ishmael Ford As anyone interested in Christian origins no doubt knows, the informed assumption of the academic community is that between Jesus’ death and the writing of the gospels there appear to have been two traditions passed on, orally for sure, possibly in writing as well. One was […]

As we mark the solemn one-year anniversary of Russia’s war against Ukraine, we offer this prayer of comfort, courage, wisdom and compassion. We hold our siblings in Ukraine near our hearts and in our prayers at this time and always. — uua.org Spirit of Life, God of Justice, Mother of Creation,You call us to embody equity and freedom in our lives.You are present in every struggle to overcome oppression with peace and justice.And though our siblings in Ukraine are half a world away from us, we seek to be as near to them as we might in spirit and in prayer.Strengthen […] The post A Prayer for People in War appeared first on BeyondBelief.

It is late February as I write this, and more insistently than usual, spring seems to be fully upon us. This morning while out for some quiet time in the backyard near the edge of the woods, I saw this … Continue reading →

“To the blessings of warm, accepting human relationship, may our hearts be open and our minds take heed, for in a lonely and sometimes frightening world, friendship is often the support that upholds us.” -Ken Sawyer How have friends supported you through difficult times?

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we have begun to broadcast a livestream video of our Sunday morning worship services. This worship video will be available live and in recorded formats. For our livestream video of our worship services, we are using Facebook Live.  One does not have to log into Facebook … Continue reading "26 February 2023 Worship Livestreaming Video"

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we have begun to broadcast a livestream video of our Sunday morning worship services. This worship video will be available live and in recorded formats. For our livestream video of our worship services, we are using Facebook Live.  One does not have to log into Facebook … Continue reading "19 February 2023 Worship Livestreaming Video"

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we have begun to broadcast a livestream video of our Sunday morning worship services. This worship video will be available live and in recorded formats. For our livestream video of our worship services, we are using Facebook Live.  One does not have to log into Facebook … Continue reading "12 February 2023 Worship Livestreaming Video"

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we have begun to broadcast a livestream video of our Sunday morning worship services. This worship video will be available live and in recorded formats. For our livestream video of our worship services, we are using Facebook Live.  One does not have to log into Facebook … Continue reading "5 February 2023 Worship Livestreaming Video"

Following up on yesterday’s post, I decided to draft a brief biography of gospel composer A. B. Windom — just in time for the last few days of Black History Month. Aaron Bash Windom, better known as A. B. Windom, was born on September 11, 1910, in Missouri. Nothing is known about his early years. … Continue reading "Aaron Bash Windom"

In the first of a new occasional series, weekend editor Eric O. Scott looks back at Jean Cocteau's 1946 classic, La Belle et la Bête, with an eye to its Pagan themes. Continue reading Classics of Pagan Cinema: La Belle et La Bête at The Wild Hunt.

as preached February 26, 2023 at Bay Area Unitarian Universalist Church, Houston, Texas There is much in the ordinary life of a religious professional that more secular people find extraordinary. A friend recently reminded of this over dinner. A word about my friend, he is a well-known writer and war correspondent. Most of us would […] The post Ordinary/Extraordinary; an ordination sermon for J Sylvan appeared first on Colin Bossen.

Some of our members discuss why they are Unitarian Universalists.

It’s funny how we count so much in terms of years. Birthdays are the most obvious, and I had my 73rd one of those this week. But we also make note of a lot of other anniversaries. Celebrating wedding anniversaries are common and a lot of couples also celebrate the anniversaries of their first date. […]

                                           Jan Ernst Matzeliger. the immigrant mulatto who didn't seem to fit in anywhere. On May 19, 1885 Jan Ernst Matzeliger ’s revolutionary Shoe Lasting Machine was introduced into productionat a Lynn , Massachusetts factory .   Within a few years American production of factory-made shoes exploded and costs per pair to consumersdropped more than 50%.   Lynn became the centerof a major industry.   Matzeliger’s road to being an inventor was anything but ordinary .   He was born in 1852 in Paramaribo , Dutch Guiana (now Surinam) in South America the son of a Dutch engineer and a local Black woman.   Matzeliger inherited his father’s talent for mechanical equipment, wo...

Some of our members discuss why they are Unitarian Universalists.

    Recalling Johnny Cash & A Consideration of Love as a Zen Koan Or, How to Become a Buddha of Fire James Ishmael Ford Burning burning burning burning O Lord Thou Pluckest me out O Lord thou pluckest T. S. Eliot, the Waste Land Johnny Cash was born on this day, the 26th of […]

So this project turns out to be harder than I thought. I’ve gone back to Josiah Royce and am one-quarter of the way through with the book in which he coined the phrase and the concept. I’ve also done some digging in Howard Thurman’s and Martin King’s writing. The one thing I’m confident in saying … Continue reading Beloved Community: It’s hard to describe! →

Marjorie Taylor Greene’s call for a “national divorce” is not a call for a second Civil War. It’s worse, because her vision of states’ rights on steroids is entirely possible. We’re already headed in that direction. We need to stop it while we still can.

                                Take My Hand, Precious Lord  by the Rev. Thomas A, Dorsey sung by Aretha Franklyn. As a mostly humanist Unitarian Universalist . I am skeptical of the theology behind Rev. Thomas A.Dorsey’s gospel song Take My Hand , Precious Lord .   I am not into anthropomorphic gods benignor otherwise who personally respond to petitionary prayer.   I am more of an unknowable spiritual Greater that reflects a harmony of all existence in the Cosmos kind of guy.   But there is no denying that millions take great comfort in a personal and loving God.   And who am I to naysay them. Moreover, when I experience a great and soaring gospel song, I am on board with any Black Baptist congregation and for ...

I recently read a poem about friends being with us for a reason, a season, or, if we are very lucky, for a lifetime. I used to think if I didn’t hold on to my friends past the reason or season, I must be fundamentally flawed, but I am learning that it’s okay to mourn, … Continue reading A Reason, A Season

I regularly engage in “magnet fishing” on the web, but instead of old bicycle frames I hope to find connections to resources that might not otherwise be found. In this case, it’s for my current research but other times I’ll Google a fragment of the Winchester Profession. You’d be amazed what that scares up: sometimes … Continue reading "UUs and the lost web"

In 2016, I wrote a post about gospel composer A. B. Windom, giving what little information I then had, and asking if anyone knew more. One or two people commented who actually knew Windom, and one or two others have added little tidbits of information. Windom is the person who composed “Now Let Us Sing,” … Continue reading "More on A.B. Windom"

"I believe that many Pagans would agree with President Carter's sentiments. At least, I hope they would. There’s much to love in Carter’s words – and many points of intersection with Pagan approaches to living in the world." Continue reading Jimmy Carter: Faith in Action at The Wild Hunt.

  a service presented at First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church in Bedford, Massachusetts February 19, 2023 Opening Words  The opening words are from the sermon John Winthrop preached on board the Arbella, to the colonists on their way to found the new town of Boston.  "We must delight in each other; make others’ conditions our own; rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together, always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work, as members of the same body." Time for All Ages: Stone Soup  One day a traveler came to a village, pulling a cart behind him. In the cart was an enormous cooking pot, 
and inside the pot was … nothing.  As he approached the village green, villagers came up to him,...

My interest in deacons and baptism in Universalist churches isn’t arbitrary, and it’s not about the past. It’s about the future. I figure the remaining Universalist Christians within the UUA are going to have to rely on each other and the ecumenical church more in the future, or perish. Those “new Universalists” who gather into … Continue reading "Why deacons and baptism?"

This week in my basement archives I revisited my life in Massachusetts in 2003 and 2004, during the time when its Supreme Judicial Court declared that to deny civil marriage to same sex couples was unconstitutional. In the six months following their declaration, state legislators were arguing over trying to stop it from happening, or […]

A short  “ thought for the day” offered to the Cambridge Unitarian Church as part of the Sunday Service of Mindful   Meditation   (Click on this link to hear a recorded version of the following piece) —o0o— As most of you will know, Friday 24th February, saw the first anniversary of the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine. It struck me that it might be helpful to use this moment to reflect, not upon its start a year ago (really nine years ago), nor the current state of the conflict but, instead, on how it might end and, indeed, on how most wars so far have ended. It is well known, or at least it was once well known, that at the Paris Peace Conference (1919-1920) immediately following the First World War, a British staff office...

Nikki Giovanni--young, Black, and revolutionary. Note —No new blog posts were made since Wednesday, February 22 because an ice storm in McHenry County caused a power outage here which was not restored until late Thursday afternoon.  Sorry for the inconvenience to regular readers. Nikki Giovanni was born in 1943 in Knoxville, Tennessee in a closeknit family.  She was inspiredby her grandmother, a natural storyteller, to explore the use of words.  After growing up in a middle class Black suburbof Columbus, Ohio, she attended Fisk University in Nashville, one of the most prestigious of the historically Black colleges. At Fisk not only did she find her voice as a poet and writer, but she was immersedin the Civil Rights Movement and the ...

“Among other wonders of our lives, we are alive with one another, we live here in the light of this unlikely world that isn’t ours for long.” -John Daniel What are some of the other wonders of your life?

Please join us on Sunday (26 February 2023) at 11:00 AM for “Who Are You in the Story?  Drawing Wisdom from the World’s Religions” with the children, youth, and adults 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, … Continue reading "All Ages Worship (26 February 2023)"

Please join us on Sunday (26 February 2023) as we begin a new series in our our adult religious education class at 9:00 AM. Our adult religious education class is still meeting via Zoom. We have several persons in the adult religious education class who are new to our faith tradition and others who would … Continue reading "Online Adult Religious Education — 26 February 2023"

Please join us next Tuesday (28 February 2023) at 12 noon for our weekly Zoom lunch. Our weekly Zoom lunch is going dual-platform — join us from home using Zoom or in person in the social hall. Bring your lunch and meet up with your All Souls friends, have lunch, and just catch up.

Please join us on Saturday (25 February 2023) 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. Please note that this group is still meeting via Zoom.  You will need … Continue reading "Meditation with Larry Androes (25 February 2023)"

“The key is yours, Sheri Ann. A gift of understanding, perhaps.” My child-self showed up at that moment and answered, “Only my ancestors call me that.” “I know,” she answered. Continue reading Winter’s Work at The Wild Hunt.

  Children's Story: “When I was a little girl”…..Feb. 28, 2010 When I was a little girl, I was kind of adventurous. I liked to be a little bit different from everyone else and try things that others didn’t want to try, like standing on my hands and using my cape to try to fly. I wasn’t too afraid of getting in trouble because my parents didn’t usually spank me and all I had to do was very sincerely say sorry and promise never to do it again. The worst punishment was to have to go to my room and be on my bed and NOT READ! That was the worst of all. One day my little sister Jeannie and I and a little boy named Drew who my mother babysat, were out in our backyard in Portland playing. I had my big rubber boots on, because it was...

The Universalist, one of the two national Universalist newspapers of the 1880s and 1890s, is available online and with searchable (if imperfect) text. It also gives a view from “the west” namely Chicago and Cincinnati. What does it say about deacons? In one case, it speaks of a deacon who participated in the 1887 Universalist … Continue reading "Deacons in The Universalist"

Tuvalu sees its first case of COVID two years after the rest of the world

Today’s walk took me a little further than intended, and dusk was settling in before I started heading home. Though I was hurrying a little, I stopped to admire a large rock outcropping that rose about twenty feet above a small artificial pond. Although the face of the rock was only about ten degrees away … Continue reading "Rock"

When I was teaching 3rd grade in AL and then again later in GA I used the poetry from Shel Silverstein’s books often with my students. They were great for teaching language learning and the rhythm of metered words. They … Continue reading →

A Prayer for Dreaming A World Made Whole with Climate Justice Hello, Beloved, help us make today a better day by choosing climate justice over expedience, by choosing creating room for those in need of refuge, displaced by drought, floods, fires, climate-fueled storms, rising seas, by choosing to bear witness...

The Christian season of Lent is a season for spiritual preparation. Of making room for the holy, of centering ourselves to be able to receive something sacred into our lives. How do you prepare your spirit to receive something sacred?

Universalists loved their newspapers. They spread Universalist doctrine and culture, particularly in areas where there there were no churches or no resident ministers. Controversies played out in them, news propagated through their pages and late into the pre-consolidation era, the polity required notices be published in them. Last week, I found more than a decade … Continue reading "Universalist newspaper family tree"

as preached at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston, February 18, 2023 He drew a circle that shut me out–Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.But Love and I had the wit to win:We drew a circle that took him in! Those words might be familiar. They have long been popular in Unitarian Universalist circles. […] The post Widening Love’s Circle appeared first on Colin Bossen.

Toronto-based Indian filmmaker receives protection from Indian high court after being persecuted for depicting the Goddess Kali smoking while brandishing a Rainbow Flag. Continue reading Indian Supreme Court Protects filmmaker for depiction of Goddess Kaali at The Wild Hunt.

By Gayatri Patnaik and Christian Coleman | In her compelling Boston Globe article “Celebrating Black History Month as Black History Is Being Erased,” Renée Graham writes that Black History Month this year has a specific purpose and burden, “and that burden is not for Black people to bear alone.” The challenge, Graham notes, “is to save this crucial American history from being eroded book by book, law by law, and state by state.” We couldn’t agree more.

In preparation for a class in Portland, Oregon, I decided to test a router bit that cuts 5/32 in. finger joints. Because of the size of the bit, I decided to build a dedicated router table using my large Makita router, one that's rarely used in my shop. You can see the set-up and results in the photo. It has limitations, being useful only for boxes about 2 1/2 in. high or for drawers of similar height height. An advantage of this method is that all four sides of a box can be clamped together on the sliding portion of the jig to be cut at the same time. Two cuts (and some additional fiddling about) and you've got a box. Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning lifewise.

here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows higher than soul can hope or mind … Continue reading →

      Karl Jaspers and the Path of the Spiritual if not Religious James Ishmael Ford Karl Theodor Jaspers was born on this day, the 23rd of February, 1883, Oldenburg, in Lower Saxony, in Germany. He began studying law but changed to medicine, taking his doctorate in 1908. Two years later he married Gertrud […]

For our Christian siblings around the world, today is Ash Wednesday, a day to ponder, among other things, the mortality of all living beings. Rather than be a sad occasion, though, it is an opportunity to fully embrace all of what it means to be human. Lora Brandis writes this prayer for the day: “Dear … Continue reading Mortality

I’ve been intrigued by the Tower of Babel for a long time, so I’ve decided to really dig into it via art (and maybe writing) by making it my Lent project. Every day, an exploration of some aspect or interpretation or tangent of this very brief (nine verses, Genesis 11:1-9),  enigmatic story. Here’s the first.

Natalia Harrell shot and killed someone in Florida. She was six weeks pregnant. She was apprehended and put in prison. Now she has filed a petition with the Florida courts saying lack of prenatal care in prison is endangering the life of her fetus — or, to use Florida’s term for a fetus, her “unborn … Continue reading "Legal personhood"

I’ve been working through my study list and will be reporting out more soon. But since this is the first day of Lent, I thought I’d add a project to the mix (which I may or may not complete by Holy Week.) Long ago, I learned that I am more likely to read a document … Continue reading "Transcribing Ballou on the Parables"

For neurodivergent individuals, navigating and learning the tarot can be extra challenging. A new tarot deck created by Pamela Coe seeks to change that. Continue reading A new, neurodivergent-friendly tarot deck at The Wild Hunt.

(This circle will be held once a month, usually in lieu of our traditional worship service; please join us in our beautiful sanctuary the rest of the month for our regularly-scheduled worship services!) February 26, 2023 10:30am – Noon Unitarian Church of Marlborough & Hudson 80 Main St., Hudson, MA Cost: Free; donations welcome   The   [ … ] The post “Soul Matters” Sharing Circle Sunday ~ In Lieu of Regular Sunday Worship ~ 10:30 am – Noon appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

Ash Wednesday: A Small Zen Meditation James Ishmael Ford “You should realize that although firewood is at a dharma-stage of firewood,  and that this is possessed of before and after, the firewood is at the same time independent, completely cut off from before, completely cut off from after. Ashes are the dharma-stage of ashes, which […]

The New Age Spiritualist Collaborative is a new group forming as part of Spiritual Growth and Community Center at the Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson. We’ll be exploring modalities such as mediumship, divination, energy healing, and astrology with the aim of evolving consciousness by understanding our soul’s place in the Universe. Each meeting will be   [ … ] The post SGCC: New Age Spiritualist Collaborative ~ Monthly on 4th Thursdays beginning 2/23 appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

McHenry County NOW has asked that the Holiday Inn Chicago NW Crystal Lake Convention Center, an IHG Hotel, to cancel the Exposing Radical’s War on Kids event scheduled for February 25 beginning at 8:30 am. Charlie Kirk , known for his racistand anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric, is scheduled as a guest speaker along with several other speakers who follow the same agenda.   Kirk is an activist and talk radio host. He founded Turning Point USA with Bill Montgomery in 2012 and has served as its executive director since. He is the CEO of several Turing Point affiliated groups and Students for Trump. He is also a memberof the radical right Council for National Policy. Hate peddler Charlie Kirk is the star attraction at the Saturday event at the Cryst...

Despite this window in the  Congressional Chapel  in the  Capitol ,  the popular image of Washington in reverent prayer receiving the so-called  Vision of Valley Forge  was invented out of thin air. Note— For the first time since 2012 Ash Wednesday and George Washington’s Birthday coincide.   Ash Wednesday.  Since the entirely spurious story of the Vision at Valley Forge was reportedly made in 1859 reminiscences by 99-year-old Anthony Sherman, who was supposedly present with Continental Army at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777 and overheard Washington tell an officer that an angel had revealed a prophetic vision of America to him.   There is no other confirmation of this and the recollections or revels recounted second...

  “The Universal School Meals Program Act will make breakfast, lunch, and after-school snacks free for every public and nonprofit private school student, regardless of family or community income, improving student academia and ending school lunch shaming.” Daily Kos via The Action Network     According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1 in 6 children — or 13 million children — face food insecurity. Children who lack access to healthy food options have a more difficult time learning. Kids read more... The post February Action Alert: No More Hungry Kids! Support Universal School Meals appeared first on Promise the Children.

What if, for some reason, we could no longer use the word love. But, let’s say, we still wanted to convey for ourselves and for others the things love means to us, between us, and about us.  What words would … Continue reading →

Magic and witchcraft are available to everyone. You don’t need an invitation and you certainly don’t need anyone’s permission. The power is there for the taking. But you have to take it, nurture it, tend it, and most importantly, exercise it.

Conventional American Christianity tells that when we pray in groups, we are supposed to bow our heads with our eyes squeezed shut. I understand why people insist on bowing their heads: the conventional Christian God is supposed to require this gesture of obedience and submission. But why must our eyes be shut tight? I understand … Continue reading "Eyes wide open"

Whether it is called Mardi Gras, or Carnival, or something else entirely, many people around the world today celebrate an opportunity to cut loose in extravagant display before the more somber season of Lent begins. How can you cut loose today?

By Sheryll Cashin | As a daughter of civil rights activists from Alabama who knew Dr. King personally, it is a great honor to address you today for a Sunrise Celebration of him! And it is a joy for me, as a writer, to address librarians. I want to begin by thanking you for your service, for what you do to bring books and truth for free to the masses!

In his debut article for TWH, Trevor Leach reports on the new art installations of Shahzia Sikander that seek to exemplify and honor the feminine divine and offer a nod to RBG. Continue reading “to breathe, air, life” – NYC hosts new monuments to the feminine divine at The Wild Hunt.

Facilitation: Leading Gatherings with Grace and Impact led by experienced facilitators Rev. Cathy Rion Starr, Side with Love Leadership Development Specialist; and Elisse Ghitelman, Side with Love Squad Leader View the Skill up on Vimeo Skill Up Slide Deck - includes all the links & resources shared Sunday and those below  Chat thread from the training How to Facilitate Meetings the NO Magic way – 350.org – really solid & simple guide 350.org Online Training Monster Manual – Slide Deck Template with a lot of great online activities (See more Facilitation resources from 350.org)   Meetings that Work – UUA from 2005 – lots of good stuff, even though some is outdated More Tools:  Building Safety In a Group – Training for Chan...

A panel of experts led by U.S. Ambassador Kelley Currie discussed the findings of the 2023 report, “How Do We Survive in the Future?: Atrocity Crimes in Karenni State.”

I love being on my porch, swinging on my two seater with Hunny by my side. I will just sit and watch the trees dance with the wind. I laugh when I see squirrels chase each other up the trees. … Continue reading →

When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something. – John Lewis  Today would have been John Lewis’ 83rd birthday. Millions of people have been inspired by Lewis’ courageous commitment to racial justice and electoral justice. Along with other people of faith and conscience like James Reeb and Viola Liuzzo, John Lewis is a spiritual elder and ancestor who invites us to side with love rather than fear.  Last year, hundreds of UU congregations and individual UUs worked tirelessly ahead of the 2022 election, which helped us reach more than 2 million voters during a time when voter suppression was strong. Inspired by Lewis’ famous quote – Never, e...

Pub Theology Facilitated by:  Caitlin Eaton-Robb Date/Time:  Monthly on 2nd Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. Cost:  No participation fee; purchase your own refreshments Location:  Lost Shoe Brewing and Roasting Company, Marlborough, MA Come join UCMH at Lost Shoe Brewing and Roasting Company in Marlborough !  We welcome atheists, agnostics, humanists, people of all faith traditions, and people   [ … ] The post SGCC: Pub Theology ~ Monthly on 2nd Thursdays appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

Event: cUUpCakes ~ Cakes for the Queen of Heaven Date/Time: Sunday, April 23, 12-2 pm Facilitators: Dot Russell and Carien vanGelder Cost: Free, donations to UCMH welcome   Please join Carien vanGelder and Dot Russell to explore a small bit of the “UU Cakes for the Queen of Heaven” curriculum.  We will be will be exploring   [ … ] The post SGCC: Cakes for the Queen of Heaven (cUUpCakes) ~ Sunday, April 23, 12:00-2:00 p.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

Radical Christianity is about encountering the God of love. It is first and foremost rooted in the discovery of a universal and unconditional source of love at the heart of reality and within each person. God is the name we give to this source of love. It is possible to have a direct and real personal encounter with this God through spiritual practice. We encounter God, and are nourished by God,

Staff Writer As President Susan Frederick-Gray’s term winds down in the coming months, UU World will be sharing content to honor her legacy and contributions to our faith movement.

There are downsidesto having been raised vaguely Protestant and residing in sometimes inhospitable northern climes.  Perhaps the biggest is regardingwith wistful envy the liberating extravagance of Carnival and Mardi Gras .   It is the un-religious holiday—a day of wallowing in the ways of the flesh and merry making before getting down to the serious and unpleasant tasks of the proper piety of Lent . Revelers are crowding the French Quarter again in New Orleans. Catholicsseem to know how to take advantage of the opportunity, especially in warm places where the streets beckon—New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro most famously.  But folks from countries where Romance languages are spoken can find ways to celebrate even in icy Quebec City....

“We form a web of compassionate listening when individuals among us, embodying vulnerability, name the fears that grip their hearts, the joys that buoy their spirits. We speak the language of love.” -Erika Hewitt How can you embody vulnerability today?

Best song I’ve ever heard about domestic violence: “Johnny’s Girl” by Spirit Artis. The music is not complex: mostly Artis’s expressive voice, with her understated guitar accompaniment, and a touch of overdubbed harmony singing. The song is powerful enough that it doesn’t need any more than that. In a podcast, Artis said this is a … Continue reading "Song"

In this week's Pagan Community Notes: Return of a Native Totem, a new Witch-themed bar, a "spirit hunt", announcements galore, and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of February 20, 2023 at The Wild Hunt.

Although I realise it won't be everyone’s “cup of tea,” I thought some of you would be interested to see this religious naturalist Lent course by Donald Szantho Harrington prepared for his Unitarian, Lenten Manual in 1980. It was based upon some of Henry Nelson Wieman’s work and that of his wife, Regina Westcott Wieman. I first ran it for my own congregation in Cambridge (UK) during 2014 whilst a group of us were exploring both Weiman's thought and religious naturalism in general. Since then I've kept this blog live and available for anyone else to work through should they be so minded. Here's the link to its front page updated for Lent 2023: https://memorialunitarian. blogspot.com/

The colt,unsteady gait to gallop—               beside long, barbed fence; The woman,her walk a melody—               his crude, roving eyes; The lovestruck,blush leaping hot to cheek—               legislation, lost; The ravenous,hand to silken pudding—               labels, searched like prayer; The family,to broad table, beaming—               Door shut, bolt fastened; The young,rounds of laughter lifting—               silent social norms; The flagwaving for unity—               red line, pipeline split; The men,yearning to be held tight—               lone superhero; The book,affirming a way through...

Note— A Version of this post last appeared in 2019.  Now updated. Finding it hard to get into the spirit of the day, Bunky?  Are pictures of George and Abe, fly-over panoramas of Mt. Rushmore, your kid’s cherry tree and log cabin school projectsmagneted to the refrigerator, mattress sales, crazy deals on Korean cars, and all the bunting in the world not doing it for you this year, eh Bunky?  Can’t erase the fetid stench of corruption, betrayal, ignorance, racism, and lingering around White House despite a new resident and through disinfectant makes you want to retch when you hear the word President?  You are not alone, Bunky. Well, suck it up!  Pull up your big boy/girl panties!  Take a stroll down memory lane with us today t...

A Prayer for Dreaming a World Made Whole - Ash Wednesday, 2023 Lover of Ordinary People and Ordinary Abundant Blessings, may we join You in dreaming a world repaired and healed and full of justice and joy, not just for a few, but for everyone in every land and every...

Start treating your Self like someone you love. J. Mike Fields, Life Coach Love shows up in most religious traditions as a most important thing. Jesus’ famous words agree with the teachers of his Jewish tradition that loving God and … Continue reading →

My daughter has a lot of people she calls her “best” friends. She sees no conflict in naming more than one person her “best friend forever.” There is no competition for her love, and no ranking of who is better than the others. To her, the love of friendship is based in abundance and not … Continue reading BFFs

For at least a few moments, before we had children, Carri and I had this one perfect moment where we had a sense of control about who our kids would be. See, we adopted through foster care, and as a part of … Continue reading →

Yelp.com used to be my go-to online source for finding religious communities in a given area. In the San Francisco Bay area, I could type in my location, plus the search term “Religious organizations,” and I’d get a fairly complete list of religious communities, including communities that had no other web presence. But here in … Continue reading "Online tools for finding religious diversity"

The Carnival of Viareggio is one of Italy's most spectacular and this year several floats and happenings had Pagan themes. Continue reading Pagan themes abound at the Carnival of Viareggio at The Wild Hunt.