We were thrilled to accept a symbolic. Giant check for $500 from our old friends and supporters from Crystal Lake/Ridgefield Presbyterian Church at a Compassion for Campers event organized by Blossom  Broussard (seen on left.). The help was extremely timely as we are nearing yet another funding crisis. Note— This   post is based on my remarks yesterday at a McHenry County College Event   sponsored by the Student Peace Action Network (SPAN) and coordinated by Blossom Broussard, a young member of Tree of Life Congregation.   It presents an opportunity to explain the Compassion for Campers program and introduce it to those who might not be aware of our work. Compassion for Campers , the organization that supplies camping gear, surviva...

For two years I have been trying to get dual citizenship. On my last visit home to New York I found a treasure stack of immigration information from Ellis Island and my paternal grandfather’s naturalization process. Because he filed AFTER … Continue reading →

An old car, a quilt handed down through the generations, a great-grandmother’s cedar chest, a steamer trunk that held belongings while crossing the Atlantic. Sometimes, objects in our midst hold memories that are worth saving. What objects hold good memory for you?

I received a long email today from a research group called “Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations.” The email began: “Dear Pastor, Greetings! This past spring, you or your church completed a survey for the national study entitled Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations.  At that time you were willing to be contacted for follow-up questions. In … Continue reading "Poll"

In this week's Pagan Community Notes, new pagan gold foils found in Norway, send us your ancestor altar pics, sounds of the universe and more community events and announcements. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of October 16, 2023 at The Wild Hunt.

New bill dividing Congress could harm communities in migration.

This week we’ve had a flock of dozens of white-throated sparrows in our back yard and the field and trees next to it. I love their little striped heads and loud chirping. They are drawn by the water of the pond, and I’ve seen them drinking and bathing there. It is such a blessing to […]

Elaine McArdle A beloved folk song is now a children’s book, updated to remove binary language.

I love my genealogy and have done the ancestry dna test to see where my ancestors are from. The science behind it just fascinates me and I could talk forever on the subject.  I am definitively European with my majority … Continue reading →

  For those of us who grew up in North America, the Monarch was the most recognizable of all butterflies.   Large and brilliantly marked with a rich orange/gold and black pattern they could be seen by the millions twice a year in their migrations between Canada and a single Mexican forest region.   Their metamorphosis from a milkweed munching caterpillar spinning their cocoons to emergence as a regal flyer was a staple of grade school science curricula.   But all of that is under a dire threat as populations collapse with the rapid alterations in their critical Mexican nesting grounds due to global climate change and threat to their essential milkweed due to dramatic climate change all along their long migration routes .   All monar...

Because the post reproduced below (first published by me on 6th May 2015) seems to be drawing a few extra readers at the moment, I thought I’d repost it at the top of my blog, restore a couple of dead links and also add a short interview with Klaas Hendrikse who, alas, died in June 2018. I last wrote about him and the continuing value of his work to me in my own free-religious ministry in the following post and podcast published on 29th June 2022: God does not exist . . . but God may happen —o0o— Klaas Hendrikse — ‘de atheïstische dominee’ — the atheist pastor For many reasons (not least of all that found at this link) I’m revisiting something of the Dutch Protestant minister, Klaas Hendrikse’s thinking and work. In t...

Ritual can be a powerful way to honor one’s ancestors–in blood or in spirit. We join with others to create meaning from our connection to the ancestors. What kinds of rituals do you (or might you) do to honor your ancestors?

I spent the weekend down in Santa Cruz at a retreat for local Unitarian Universalist Ministers. The last time I attended one of these retreats was before the pandemic. I was registered to go last March but got COVID instead and had to cancel. (The pandemic is not over!) This time I made it. There […]

Weekend editor Eric O. Scott take a look at the new 50th-anniversay release of The Wicker Man and share new perspective of the classic folk horror film. Continue reading Classics of Pagan Cinema: The Wicker Man at The Wild Hunt.

Back in 2020, in the depths of the pandemic, I began assembling a collection of copyright-free hymns. (Remember when we were all figuring out navigate copyright laws with online worship services?) I uploaded PDFs of the hymns to Google Drive, and made the folder publicly accessible. It was clumsy, and probably very few people actually … Continue reading "New online resource"

I got interested in the Buddhist Churches of America (BCA) after reading Jeff Wilson’s book Dixie Dharma: Inside a Buddhist Temple in the American South. Ekoji Temple, the one Wilson writes about in this book, was founded by Rev. Takashi Kenryu Tsuji in the 1980s. Tsuji had retired as a bishop of BCA, and Ekoji … Continue reading "Pure Land"

We humans are nostalgic creatures. We love to remember the "good old days." But sometimes, we walk a dangerous path when we put the past on a pedestal. Part 2 of our sermon series on HERITAGE.

The Windgate Center of Art+Design at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock has announced a job opening for the furniture studio instructor. There is no better way to learn than to teach, and the job comes with full access to the furniture design studio.  My hopes are that they attract some good candidates for the tenure track position. https://uasys.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/UASYS/job/Little-Rock/Assistant-Professor-of-Art-Furniture-Design-Woodworking---9-MONTH_R0046989?q=R0046989&hiringCompany=720b21cbdf2401e26b5b1759c4019006&fbclid=IwAR2iy4cssJAnld6yUXk8v-vb1EsT4BDirc1OJnEjakvnl9ZoimKwwRmzsmM The woodworking studio is excellent and the job offers an opportunity to collaborate with others in art and design education.  Make, fix...

          The Japanese Zen community marks today, the 15th of October, as the anniversary of the day in the year 606, when Jianzhi Sengcan returned to that mystery from which all of us come and, as with that ancient venerable, to which all of us return. In our Zen traditions Sengcan […]

The Apache war chief known as Victorio went by many names.  The one we remember him by was given to him by his most hated enemies--the Mexicans.  He probably never used it for himself. The Apache leader Victorio may not be as well-known as his contemporaries Cochise and Geronimo, largely because when he conducted his most famous campaigns against the U . S . and Mexican Armies in sparsely populated and inhospitable regions on both sides of the border while the attention of the nation was riveted on the larger wars with the Sioux, Cheyenne, and other tribes on the northern plains.   But he was a wily and dangerous warrior who ran circles around the troops that pursued him for years.   Until fate caught up with him. Victorio’s origin...

All of us are ancestors-in-training. The ways we live our lives ripple out from us, and those ripples will last long after we are gone. We each have an opportunity to live in ways that help others remember us well. What kind of ancestor would you like to be?

Please join us on Sunday (15 October 2023) at 11:00 AM for “With Love at the Center” by Susan Caldwell (All Souls Director of Religious Education). Susan is in the pulpit this morning — exploring the proposed changes to our Unitarian Universalist principles and sources. In light of recent events, we will also have a … Continue reading "All Ages Worship (15 October 2023)"

For this Sunday (15 October 2023), our children (Pre-K thru Grade 5) will be using a program adapted from Moral Tales (a Tapestry of Faith curriculum by Alice Anacheka Nasemann and Elisa Davy Pearmain). This class continues with “In Another’s Shoes” — exploring the concept of empathy and the importance of seeing from multiple perspectives.

This class is an exploration of our eight Unitarian Universalist principles through artistic expression. On this Sunday (15 October 2023), we will explore the third principle — “Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations.” The All8 curriculum is the creation of Jil Novenski (Director of Religious Education — Community Unitarian … Continue reading "Middle and High School Youth Religious Education (15 October 2023)"

Please join us on Sunday (15 October 2023) for our adult religious education class at 9:00 AM. Our adult religious education class is now a dual-platform class — meeting in person in the church social hall and also on Zoom. We will continue reading the UUA Common Read for 2023 — On Repentance and Repair … Continue reading "Online and In-Person Adult Religious Education — 15 October 2023"

The October 2023 building and grounds work day has moved to 21 October 2023 from 1000 AM to 200 PM. We usually have the monthly building and grounds work day on the second Saturday of each month.  However, we had a wedding on the second Saturday of October 2023. If you aren’t going to Baton … Continue reading "Monthly Building and Grounds Work Day Moving to 21 October 2023"

Please join us next Wednesday (18 October 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.

It’s no secret at this point that everyone wants to have sex with the devil. This is such a non-statement that it is, at this point, much harder to find a depiction where the devil is anything less than a caricature of the most erotically charged image available to the imagination of the creator. There’s just one problem: nobody can tell me who the devil is.  Continue reading Sympathy for “The Devil” at The Wild Hunt.

          This is the season I totally don’t understand. It purports to be a celebration—if competition to scare polite society may be called a happy time.           Costumes tell much about people. Young women often prefer hooker attire—a shameless plug if ever there were one–and guys hanker to play mobsters who, by the way, have […]

Captain Chuck Yeager with his Bell X-1 rocket plane Glamorous Glennis in 1947. Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager   became the most famous aviator since Charles Lindburgh when word was finally leaked that he had broken the sound barrier in a Bell X1 rocket plane dropped from a B-29 on October 14, 1947.   Yeager was already a noted World War II fighter pilot ace who was credited with 13 downed German planes in 63 missions over Europe in P-51 Mustangs.   Yeager had gained one victory before he was shot down over France in his first aircraft on March 5, 1944, on his eighth mission.   He escaped to Spain on March 30, 1944, with the help of the French Resistance and returned to England on May 15, 1944.   After D-Day he received the personal ...

Calligraphy by Thich Nhat Hanh A short  “ thought for the day” was 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 and of itself the current conflict unfolding in Israel/Gaza is utterly horrific, and all of us remain deeply shocked by the murderous actions of Hamas and the now ongoing brutal siege [and, as I publish this, the threatened invasion] of Gaza by Israel. There is much I could say that might help us better understand how this dreadful moment has been arrived at, but I will not do any of that here. All I will do with regard to this is to encourage you properly to inform yourself about the...

Since learning about the vast impact of human trafficking–25 million people are estimated to be trafficked each year–I’ve made it one of my major social justice issues. I preached about it, of course; brought a guest to the pulpit to do the same; started an annual tradition of selling fair-trade (i.e., slavery-free) mini chocolate bars […]

The grave of Isaac van Deusen (1704-1796) in Great Barrington, Massachusetts Last year, I went with my family and parents-in-law to visit the graves of long-departed ancestors of my father-in-law. We calculated that Isaac van Deusen, a Dutch colonist in western Massachusetts, is my child’s seventh great-grandfather, nine generations removed from her (and seven from … Continue reading Seven Generations

Please join us on Saturday (14 October 2023) at 10:30 AM for our weekly meditation group with Larry Androes. This group will be meeting via Zoom and not in person. 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 … Continue reading "Meditation with Larry Androes (14 October 2023)"

When people ask “why do you want to become a Witch right now?”, I hesitate on answering. There are technically two truths to that answer. One is not sexy. The other is embarrassing. Continue reading I Spent Most of My “Witching Year” Feeling Like a Failure at The Wild Hunt.

Main St. Eureka Springs is sponsoring artist studio tours this weekend. Information can be found at this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/open-studios-eureka-springs-tickets-716123172687 The event offers a great time to see artists' studios and buy their work. In my own shop this weekend, I'm assembling boxes to prepare them for sanding and finish. Make, fix and create...

Bring your whole crew! Saturday, November 4, 2023

By David Delmar Sentíes | The way we access good tech jobs in this country is essentially a pay-to-play model: you need to spend a lot of money to make a lot of money. If you don’t have the opportunity to graduate from college, you’re shut out of many of those jobs. And that’s it. There die our hopes for an equitable tech workforce. There’s not a DEI workshop in the world that can change that, and we need to stop pretending that there is. Equity cannot be achieved by coloring inside the lines of a system that is inherently inequitable.

I started playing the violin at 11 years old. It was quite by accident, destiny or fate, however you interpret these sorts of things. We were having a birthday party for my cousin at my paternal grandparents’ house, when Granddaddy … Continue reading →

Sunday, October 15 Holding On, Letting Go Led by Rev. Alice Anacheka-Nasemann   In a changing world, how do we carry heritage forward with us? What do we hold onto? What do we let go of? Our theme this month is Heritage . Join us this Sunday as Rev. Alice reflects on heritage through the lens   [ … ] The post Sunday Worship: October 15 ~ Holding On, Letting Go ~ 10:30 a.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

On October 13, 2016 a lot of us woke up to the startling news from Stockholm that Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize for Literature which in recent years has been noted for mostly honoring writers from the Third World and emerging voices .   The last American to win the most prestigious award in the world was novelist Toni Morrison in 1993.   Although Dylan’s name had been publicly proposed it was a stunning surprise when the Swedish Academy made the announcement—the first ever to an artist whose principal body of work was song lyrics . The citation for the award declared that Dylan earned the prize “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition,” One member of the selection panel compared his wo...

A piece of American culture, for those who have never participated before. You will need —  your pumpkin (I bought one for $6, but prices vary) – larger pumpkins are easier to carve. Mine is about 12 inches or 30 cm diameter. (A little bigger is a lot heavier.) —  old newspaper to work on —   a kitchen knife with a long sturdy blade to cut the lid, and a large strong spoon to scoop the seeds and pulp from inside and to thin the walls (1 inch or 2.5cm is ideal). Hold the spoon by its bowl to get better control while scooping, and avoid bending the handle! —  a serrated pumpkin saw for cutting through the flesh and skin. You can find them at at CVS, Target, or a grocery store (individually or as part of a set) for approximate...

When I was a kid, my grandpa used to take me to JFK airport in New York City to watch the big planes take off and land. I remember the sound of the arrivals and departures board clicking as it updated. I was brought back to this pleasant memory recently when a friend posted a … Continue reading Happy Memories

I always read a lot for pure pleasure, and that continues during my sabbatical. I just read the three Anthony Horowitz mysteries that begin with The Word Is Murder, for example. Lots of Donna Leon during our time in Europe. I reread a couple of Terry Pratchetts. As a sabbatical activity, though, I’m also reading […]

A quick round up of Stonehenge news from October. Continue reading Stonehenge update: October 2023 at The Wild Hunt.

By Christian Coleman | So much has happened for Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s “An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States” in the ten years since it was originally published. It won the American Book Award. It made the New York Times Best Sellers list in 2021. Filmmaker Raoul Peck used it as source material for his HBO docuseries “Exterminate All the Brutes.” The young adult version adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese came out in 2019. Since then, the YA adaptation has earned the honor of becoming a banned book in Texas.

This OpEd in the New York Times spells out clearly why shop classes and home economics are still of value in American education.To Prepare Kids for the Future, Bring Back Shop and Home Ec  As I usually state: Make, fix and create...

Rev. Karen Van Fossan recounts her experience supporting the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's activism against the Dakota Access Pipeline in her new memoir, "A Fire at the Center: Solidarity, Whiteness, and Becoming a Water Protector", published by UUA imprint, Skinner House Books. Continue reading "New Book from Skinner House, A Fire at the Center, Looks at Dakota Access Pipeline Water Protection Efforts Led by Indigenous Activists: Memoir by Rev. Karen Van Fossan Highlights Response by Religious Communities, Challenges Notions of Whiteness"

In 1960, when The Reverend John and Barbara Wolf came to All Souls so that he could become the new Senior Minister of the church, it was a package deal. Barbara did much of what our nine different Care Teams do today. She visited the sick and brought meals and kept tabs on who was in the hospital. Barbara was a driving force behind the memorial garden of the church and helped with our Life Decisions team negotiating prices for cremations for our members with the funeral homes. Together they ministered to the members (and the ministers) of All Souls for over 60 years. The post Honoring, Celebrating, And Remembering the Life of Barbara Wolf appeared first on BeyondBelief.

Religion New Service interviews Laura E. Anderson, a psychologist who has written a new book, When Religion Hurts You: Healing from Religious Trauma and the Impact of High-Control Religion. In the interview Anderson makes the obvious point that the cure for religious trauma might not be renouncing all religion: “[Religion News Service:] Why might it … Continue reading "Healing from religious trauma"

My mom was born in Puerto Rico in the year of 1941. She came to New York in 1957. The biggest challenge for her at the time was learning English.  She then moved to Texas in 1958. My parents eloped … Continue reading →

              In Iran and within the Persian diaspora today, the 12th of October, is Hafiz Day. And a very good day to think of this remarkable Persian poet. While in the west he remains in the shadow of the wondrous Rumi, in the Middle East, especially in Iran, Hafiz […]

I endured a testosterone driven puberty One that nearly irrecoverably broke me But somehow I came out and Tolled the world I’m transgender female So now to lessen my dysphoria Further lessen my crippling gender dysphoria And bring my more gender congruence Bring my even more gender congruence Soon I’ll undergo a breast augmentation

There are many Festivals of Light celebrated by religions and cultures around the world including Christmas , Chanukah , and Winter Solstice observances familiar in the West .   But none are more colorful or enjoyed with such gleeful abandon a Diwali, the Hindu festival of the victory of light over darkness , good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.   In most of the Northern Hemisphere the five day holiday begins this year today, October 7, and reaches its peak on Sunday, the third day of the celebration.   The large Indian diaspora in the United Kingdom , South Africa , the Caribbean , Canada , Fiji , the United States and elsewhere has spread observances across the globe. Typically, during the celebration, temples, homes, shops...

For many years, I heard about the idea of connection to ancestors and thought of it in theoretical terms — always with a little distance, never quite believing that direct connection could be possible. I wasn’t sure that connecting to ancestors was even for me, as a white person (weren’t my ancestors the bad ones?), … Continue reading Lifeline

A floating temple to the Chinese sea goddess Tin Hau, also known as Mazu, has been moved to a permanent location and will undergo an extensive renovation. Continue reading Sea Goddess’s floating temple gets new home at The Wild Hunt.

I thought it was time for a roundup of what-all I’ve been doing with this lovely spacious sabbatical time. I like having a lot of projects going–it’s one thing I love about congregation-based ministry–so I’ll give several brief updates. One thing I wanted to do was keep practicing my Spanish. Of the four basic language […]

  I live in an arts community, where so many of us are focused on beauty, (and attempting to sell our representations of it)  and yet I think that part of the beauty in things lies in their usefulness.  Beauty is  a reflection of the whole thing… how it’s made, the motivation of the maker, the responsible use of materials in the making, reflecting how it will serve in the simple practicalities of life, as well as  the ability to recycle or repurpose at end life. I find a particular value in making objects for use, not to just to be looked at, so if a few of my things have been worn out and discarded or recycled, that's a good thing . I’m reminded of an interview years ago with Yo Yo Ma about his visit to a village in China. He...

Laura Solomon Embodying all of me is the best way I know to love the world. Continue reading "Unlearning the Rules"

My Pop was born in Texas in the year 1938. He was a first generation born in The USA of Mexican parents. He was the only son of six children.  He never talked about his childhood to me. I never … Continue reading →

Why would a fat old breeder like me celebrate National Coming Out Day?   Because like almost everyone, I have known and loved Gay , lesbian , and transexual folk my entire life—even when I did not know or was not supposed to know the “truth” about them.   Because I was bullied and tormented in school—queer bait was a particular taunt aimed at a bookish kid who didn’t fit in—and saw worse.   Because one of my closest friends in the tight knit and open circle of young Wobblies in Chicago in the early ‘70’s was afraid to come out even to us—although we all knew it.   We all had to pretend.   He was the first person I knew who died from AIDS. Because I have lived for more 30 years in a conservative county where Gays, l...

When I need to do a hard thing, before I start I take a few minutes to center myself and think about the love and support that surrounds me. My family. My friends. My ancestors. Depending on what I’m gearing up to do, different ancestors come to mind. Sometimes it’s ancestors whom I knew – … Continue reading Cheering Me On

Catching up on taiko ~ Treehouse retreat ~ Advice for the Spiritually Perplexed and Vexed Even on sabbatical, I have a schedule of things that happen every week. I Zoom with my mom on Mondays. I cook dinner on Tuesdays and Saturdays. I have a grad school class on Monday afternoon. I usually do art […]

An American tourist has been arrested for breaking two Pagan statues at the Israel Museum Continue reading Two Ancient Pagan statues broken at the Israel Museum at The Wild Hunt.

What a wonderful turnout we had for Wonderful Wednesday and for worship on a holiday weekend! We continue to expand the circle of belonging! And… we also grieve the horrifying conflict in Gaza. We share these words from our friend and colleague the Rev. David Miller, who is ... read more . The post Co-Ministers’ Colloquy – Oct. 10th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

We’ll have regular sessions of RE for grades K-7 and Senior High Youth Everyone will gather in for the first part of the service in the Great Hall. After the story in the service, the elementary aged children will go to their classrooms: the 4th-7th graders (the ... read more . The post Religious Education on Sunday Oct. 15th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Thanks for the ways that you care for one another and our neighbors by allowing those with mobility challenges and/or young kids to have spaces in the parking lot, or directly in front, and making sure to leave driveways completely clear when parking on the ... read more . The post Care in Parking appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

My family didn’t pass down many generations-old traditions, but the few I can think of are allbased around food. First, when I was growing up, it was always important to my family to eattogether. I ate breakfast in the kitchen … Continue reading →

                                     Carol Alfus reading her poetry at an earlier Tree of Life Open Mic. Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation , 5603 Bull Valley Road in McHenry, will host another of its popular Open Mic and Coffee Houses on Saturday, October 14 from 7 to 9 pm.   It is a showcase for all sorts of performers including musicians in all genres, poets and spoken word artists, magicians, and novelty acts. Open Mic Host, Lisa Campagnolo. Organizer and host, Lisa Campagnolo, is issuing a call for acts to sign up.   Performers can sign up on the spot for one of the open 12 slots. Each act should be no longer than a firm 8 minutes.   Larger acts will receive ample additional time.   To reserve...

Where I live, today is still, unfortunately, celebrated as Columbus Day, a holiday intended to honor Italian-American heritage, but instead honoring colonization and the dehumanization of the Indigenous peoples of North America. As an Italian-American, it pains me that my people celebrate the wrong ancestor. I long for a celebration of the vibrant culture of … Continue reading The Wrong Ancestor

In this week's Pagan Community Notes: Honoring Indigenous People's Day, Taíno revival, events, and happenings. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of October 9, 2023 at The Wild Hunt.

T. Thorn Coyle posted the following this morning, from the poet Joy Harjo of the Muskogee Nation: Recognize whose lands…</p> The post Short Musings on Indigenous People’s Day appeared first on Taking Up Space.

With heartfelt dedication, Dennis Neill and John Southard have helped create a new Pet Memorial in the church's garden. Our love of pets spans generations, and thanks to Dennis, John, and the garden team, this space allows them to be remembered and cherished. The post New Pet Memorial Dedicated In All Souls Garden appeared first on BeyondBelief.

                                                                                … Continue reading →

Cal Ball I was motivated to action by anger, but what I found was love.

Sofía Betancourt What are the stories that shift and shape your understanding of yourself, and have you had the opportunity to share them with someone else?

It’s been a busy couple of days for me. Another one of my websites started misbehaving. The problem turned out to be that the site had been compromised by some bad actor, presumably for nefarious purposes. While I was working on that problem, my younger sister told me that this site was down. Now I … Continue reading "Internet criminals"

Nancy Pierce Remembering an uplifting moment of community.

  Today is the Federal Holiday honoring Christopher Columbus, the alleged discover of the New World, who made his first landfall on the island of San Salvador on October 12, 1492.   Years ago, Congress, in all of its wisdom assigned the holiday to the second Monday in October to make way for a possible three day week-end for the few people who get the day off—or possibly to extend the giant mattress sales that seem to have become one of the most visible traditions of the holiday. The trouble is Columbus has been falling out of favor for some time, except among the Italian-Americans who used his Italian roots to claim their spot at the American table.   The Columbus Day parades in the big cities are less about the Navigator—an iron...

I live on the lands of the Kitchawan and Wappinger peoples, at the northern edge of the great Lenape Nation, which stretches out to my south. To my north are the lands of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. The peoples on whose lands I live are still here, and their culture is very much alive, and it … Continue reading Indigenous Peoples

The Universalist National Memorial Church held a convocation on October 7, 2023 entitled “Universalist Jubilee: Its Legacy and Promise.” The video will become available at some point and I will link it here, but in the meantime these are the notes from my part of the service. Friends, where have we as Universalist come from? … Continue reading "Remembering Universalist Heritage at Jubilee celebration"

In this sermon given in advance of Indigenous Peoples Day, I link the current conflict in Israel-Palestine to the ongoing process of colonialism in the Western Hemisphere and the Doctrine of Discovery. The post Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery appeared first on Colin Bossen.

A film where Christopher Lee performs real ceremonial magic techniques should be a shoo-in for our Classics of Pagan Cinema, right? Not so fast, writes Meg Elison, who reviews the 1968 film "The Devil Rides Out" and finds it not just flawed, but repellent. Continue reading (Not a) Classic of Pagan Cinema: The Devil Rides Out at The Wild Hunt.

Presented by: Jennifer Young and Steve Howard

This morning, ask Rev. John your burning questions.

I have never been one who has been much into meditation. Too much silence is involved and it often seems to require sitting still as well. Labyrinths I like, walking meditation. I like altars, but more for building meaning and beauty, and not so much for contemplation. I like enthusiastic worship best. If the theology […]

                                We seem to be endlessly fascinated by people’s last words. They are often taken as summations of people’s lives. And perhaps that’s so. At least on occasion. Pretty much everyone knows of Oscar Wilde’s last words said in a […]

A short  “ thought for the day” was offered to the Cambridge Unitarian Church as part of the Sunday Service of Mindful   Meditation. —o0o— One of the things that is very hard for many people properly to understand about the creative, free-spiritual tradition in which a church like the Cambridge Unitarian Church stands, is its willingness, both for itself and its members, continually to claim the freedom to be tomorrow what it, or they, are not today. This radical openness to change inevitably cuts against most people’s idea of religion as expressing something stable and long-lasting, even eternal and it can easily appear as if there is nothing at all that is stable and long-lasting about the creative, free-spiritual traditio...

My favorite part of gardening is when native plants show up and bloom all on their own! Asters are all around the edges of our yard, and in so many other Maine yards in our neighborhood right now. Different varieties, all beloved by pollinators, tiny beautiful blossoms when you look closely. My least favorite part […]

  The Chicago and Peshtigo, Wisconsin fires of October 8, 1871 were just two of the deadly blazes that swept the upper Midwest that day.  Libraries in Illinois and Wisconsin hosted a virtual on-line discussion on the 150th anniversary during the Covid year of 2021. You may have noticed that this is National Fire Protection Week.   The annual event is marked by news stories extolling the virtues of smoke alarms and family fire evacuation drills.   Your local fire station may host school field trips or an open house—maybe they will let you climb on an engine or even slide down a pole.   Ask and you will be told that this week was selected because the Great Chicago Fire broke out on October 8, 1871. This is the anniversary of that co...

My grandmother, Bapcia if you will, came from Poland at the beginning of the 20th century along with many others escaping political strife and hunger.  Dad always said his mother was 13 when she left everyone and everything she had ever known to set out for a new better world in Chicopee MA.  She had … Continue reading Finding A Better Life

Please join us on Sunday (8 October 2023) at 11:00 AM for “The Paradox of Holding Space” by Rev. Barbara Jarrell. We will be meeting in the sanctuary for this worship service.  Please join us in person at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 9449 Ellerbe Road, Shreveport LA  71106 if you are able to do so. … Continue reading "All Ages Worship (8 October 2023)"

For this Sunday (8 October 2023), our children (Pre-K thru Grade 5) will be using a program adapted from Moral Tales (a Tapestry of Faith curriculum by Alice Anacheka Nasemann and Elisa Davy Pearmain). The class resumes this week with “Faith, Hope, and Prayer” — introducing tools and practices to help us discern the path … Continue reading "Pre-K thru Grade 5 Children’s Religious Education (8 October 2023)"

This class is an exploration of our eight Unitarian Universalist principles through artistic expression. The class resumes this Sunday (8 October 2023) with an exploration of the second principle — “Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations.” The All8 curriculum is the creation of Jil Novenski (Director of Religious Education — Community Unitarian Universalist Church … Continue reading "Middle and High School Youth Religious Education (8 October 2023)"

There is no adult religious education class this Sunday (8 October 2023). The adult class will resume on 15 October 2023. Next Sunday (15 October 2023), our adult religious education class will resume at 9:00 AM. Our adult religious education class is now a dual-platform class — meeting in person in the church social hall … Continue reading "No 8 October 2023 Online / In-Person Adult Religious Education — Class Resumes 15 October 2023"

Bring a favorite dish — or your favorite thing to grab from Kroger — and join us after the 8 October 2023 worship service for our monthly potluck featuring live music from Bob Jordan (guitar and vocals), Gail Burt (vocals and piano), and Jean Kelly (percussion). Join us even if you just bring yourself — … Continue reading "Second Sunday Potluck with Live Music (8 October 2023)"

Please join us next Wednesday (11 October 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.

UUA President the Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt shares a statement on the recent tragic flare of violence between Israel and Hamas. Continue reading "Statement from UUA President Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt Regarding the Conflict Between Israel and Hamas"