A few years ago, I started working on a book of songs and carols for winter holidays, pitched for medium voices (most Christmas carols are pitched for sopranos and tenors), arranged on simple lead sheets. I had to abandon the project because life got in the way. Someday maybe I’ll finish the book, but in … Continue reading "Winter holiday songs"

I apologize for the brief blog outage. My indefatigable web host moved this website onto a more secure server with additional hardening against attackers, and some minor glitches happened. That’s the price we pay for website security these days. (Some day maybe I’ll convert this entire site to static HTML, which would reduce energy consumption … Continue reading "Outage"

Sometimes we are afraid of the unknown, of the mysterious. Sometimes admitting–or even facing–those fears is a healthy part of overcoming them. What unknown makes you afraid? How can you face that today?

Om this week's Pagan Community Notes, Caverly sentenced, Thor's Oak Kindred releases statement supporting Indigenous People's Day, the Gemenid meteors, and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of December 13, 2021 at The Wild Hunt.

Rev. Kit Ketcham, with Nancy Logan Dec. 12, 2021             This is the time of year when that tired old War on Christmas rhetoric gets dragged out of the tattered decorations box and hung on the tree—or the cross, if you wish.  I don’t get into the fray any more but I do like to pass on the real story, because it is so deeply embedded into our culture and yet virtually unexamined by most folks.             You may already know this, but the Unitarians actually SAVED Christmas, long ago, building on the foundation set in place by pagan worshippers over thousands of years of honoring the earth, sun, moon, and stars as divine.             This month marks the Winter Solstice, a holy day which has ...

In sixty years, Asian-Americans have gone from being effectively a “gray” race that could marry white or black people when interracial marriage was illegal to a group that by most objective standards is more privileged than white Christians.Though there’s some precedent for the idea of race before 1680—in some places, nobles were literally thought to have “blue blood” that marked them as a

Yesterday I finished a 3 day box making class with students at ESSA, that immediately followed a two day photo shoot with Fine Woodworking. In my home wood shop I've been trying to finish boxes that have accumulated from various classes.  The five boxes made in the last 5 days add to that burden. Three must be sent in to Fine Woodworking after sanding and finish for photography to finish production of the article which will be published at a future, unspecified date. Yesterday I received a blurb for the promotion of my new book from one of my heroes, David Henry Feldan. His award winning essay, The Child as Craftsman, published many years ago should be read by every educational policy maker in the US. About my new book, David Henry said...

                                                                           Sankta Lucia sung in Swedish at a Church observation in Gothenburg ( Göteborg) Another day, another Saint.   Today we consider how a Sicilian virgin martyr and a Neapolitan song, became central to a Scandinavian folk custom that looks suspiciously pagan. In point of fact, no one is exactly sure, but the Feast of St. Lucy—Santa Lucia—observed annually on December 13, is ancient on one hand and surprisingly recent in its Norseguise. Almost nothing is known about St. Lucy.  She was reported to be the daughter of a wealthy and/or noble family from Syracuse in Sicily in the early Fourth Century .   Syracuse was a so...

Registration Day at school was always slow and boring. So I did what any geek would do – I took a book. On Registration Day for 10th grade I took Interview With the Vampire.

Mystery is unsettling to my concrete-loving brain. I desire answers when maybe there are none. Sometimes that’s hard and I have to sit with it for a while. What does it feel like to sit with the unknown?

Kristen L. Harper We need a new theology of darkness—a new way to relate to the darkness, blackness, and brownness that surrounds us.

In part two of a series, TWH contributors Bat Collazo and Luke Babb discuss the concept of the "godspouse," a Pagan whose practice involves romantic or erotic love for a deity. Continue reading Column: Godspouses, in conversation – part two at The Wild Hunt.

as preached at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston, December 12, 2021 This is my second sermon on the theme of reimagining possibilities. Last week, at the end of my first sermon on the series, I invited you to attend to the world and share with me something beautifully unanticipated that you encountered: an […]

To part 1 In the Jewish tradition, the Talmud teaches saying 100 blessings a day over any little thing: a piece of fruit, a cup of tea, a sandwich. "Blessed are you, Yahweh, our God, Source of Life, who creates the fruit of the tree.” Or: “by whose word all comes into being,” Or: “who brings forth bread from the earth.” The item is blessed by saying that its source is blessed. Blessedness belongs to the source. Just acknowledge where it came from – whether you say God, or Earth, or All That Is. In this month's issue of "On the Journey," there’s a piece by Martin Seligman in which he recommends a simple practice: Each night, set aside 10 minutes – some time between dinner and bed. Write down three good things that happened...

To part 2 The Daoist text, Dao De Jing , dates back to about the 6th-century BCE. It consists of 81 short chapters, about 100 words each. There have been many translations into English, and I own about 17 of them. There is some scholarly dispute about the proper order of the chapters, but in the versions most common and longest known to English readers, here are the last lines of the last chapter -- the Dao De Jing 's last word. First, from the version by Stephen Mitchell, which is by far the best known and best loved. “The Tao nourishes by not forcing. By not dominating, the Master leads.”Those lines are translated by Wang Keping as:“The Dao of Heaven benefits all things and causes no harm. The Dao of the sage acts for others but ...

There was no bridge across this small creek, but it was fairly easy to cross by stepping on a few rocks. We were also wearing waterproof hiking boots. The creek will be higher this next week because we are finally getting some more much needed rain. But rain will make creeks a little harder to […]

Finding joy is a practice of mindfulness. This service will stream LIVE!.

                                                                    Le Canta a la Virgen de Guadalupe sung by Beatriz Adriana.   Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Queen of Mexico and Empress of the Americas , Patroness of the Americas , and most recently Patroness of the Unborn.   An imageof her preserved on cloth in a Mexico City Basilica is the object of almost universal adoration in Mexico and among the large Mexican diaspora in the United States.   She has been called the “rubber band which binds this disparate nation into a whole.”   Mexican literary icons have attested to her importance.   Carlos Fuentes said that “you cannot truly be considered a Mexican unless you be...

        Daiun Sogaku Harada died on this day, the 12th of December in 1961. He is a central figure in the establishment of what would become my spiritual path, as well as for many others. The roshi was born in Obama, Fukui Prefecture on the 13th of October, 1871. He was tonsured […]

I look back on the mythical people who first observed the Winter Solstice. Like them, I don’t know what’s coming next year. But also like them, I will do what I can do to make things better, using both magic and mundane effort.

“Out of the darkness, light. Out of the light, warmth. Out of the warmth, joy. Out of the joy, togetherness.” -Ben Soule Where are you finding joy today? How can you kindle it for others?

Please join us on Sunday (12 December 2021) at 11:00 AM for “Darkness and Light, Suffering and Love” by Rev. Barbara Jarrell. Our service will be livestreamed on Facebook Live here. This will be our sixth consecutive in-person worship service in the sanctuary since March 2020. We have some special rules to keep all of … Continue reading "In-Person and Online All-Ages Worship (12 December 2021)"

From: Kathy Osuch, Board Secretary To: All Members, Inactive Members, and Friends In accordance with the bylaws of our church and as Secretary of the Board, I hereby announce that All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church will hold a Congregational Meeting Sunday, 19 December 2021 at 3:00 PM via Zoom. On the Agenda: Vote on the … Continue reading "Announcement of Congregational Meeting (Sunday, 19 December 2021)"

Please join us on Sunday (12 December 2021) at 9:00 AM for our adult religious education class via Zoom. We are discussing episodes of the podcast Learning How to See with Rev. Brian McLaren, Father Richard Rohr, and Rev. Jacqui Lewis. They are discussing the 13 kinds of bias that Rev. Barbara mentioned recently in … Continue reading "Online Adult Religious Education — 12 December 2021"

We will continue to watch the local COVID numbers.  We feel encouraged by the cooling weather and the possibility of comfortable outdoor activities. We are not resuming regular classes for children and youth at this time because our classrooms are too small to be safe for unvaccinated children, and because we want some time to … Continue reading "Children and Youth Religious Education Updates"

Please join us next Wednesday (15 December 2021) 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.

Luke Babb and Bat Collazo collaborate on a two-part series of conversation and context surrounding "the godspouse," Pagans whose practice includes romantic or erotic love toward a deity. Continue reading Column: Godspouses, in Conversation – part one at The Wild Hunt.

I have been posting recently about my latest research concerning my Innu third great grandmother, and because of that I want to write today some clarification about identity and relationship. The more I am learning about Indigenous people–through study, through language, through cultural sharing by Indigenous people–the more I understand that I am not Indigenous. […]

Rich liberals have pitted gender and race against each other since the early days of abolition and suffrage when partisans concluded they could not or would not work for both. It continues with antiracists today who refer insultingly to Karens (white women who report their suspicions of people of color to the authorities), pearl-clutching (white women who get upset by harsh language), and white

Please join us on Saturday (11 December 2021) from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM for our monthly building and grounds work day. Join us as we get our church home — inside and out — as we continue to reopen.

                                                   Christmas Calling (Jolly Jones) by Norah Jones. Today we have a brand spanking new Christmas song that may have legs if holiday radio can break out of its rut of a short rotation a comfortably familiar chestnuts.   In recent years only pop superstars and country music divas have been able to stake a claim.   Today’s artist, while well honored and popular, is pegged as a jazz chanteuse an offramp from the mainstream. Nora Jones was born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar on March 30, 1979 in New York City to Indian classical sitar player Ravi Shankar who burst on the western musical scene with an introduction by the Beatles and American concert producer Sue Jones...

Margherita Caruso as Mary in Pasolini’s  Gospel According to St. Matthew  (1964) 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 I noted last week, we are in the season of Advent which, minimally conceived, marks the beginning of a period of reflective waiting and preparation for “that-which-is-to-come.” You may recall that I added, because the symbol of “that-which-is-to-come” in the Advent and Christmas myth has become so familiar to us — namely, the new-born Jesus as a representation of “divinity-among-us-never-gone” — it is easy to forget that ...

    DOUBT & FAITH A Zen Meditation James Ishmael Ford “The opposite of faith is not doubt; it is certainty. It is madness. You can tell you have created God in your image when it turns out that he or she hates all the same people you do.” Anne Lamont With Buddhism like with […]

I find mystery sometimes scary because it can be the unknown and it could be the known you can’t stop, things like creeping apathy that lead to evil. Engage with something beyond your control today–overcome creeping apathy by caring.

Please join us on Saturday (11 December 2021) 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 (11 December 2021)"

"It is midnight on a Wednesday evening, which is the time I like to bring gifts to the gods. I tear the cider bread into nine pieces and leave it there. In the morning the bread is gone, taken by the gods or the squirrels, who in any event share much in common." Continue reading Column: Cider Bread, a Devotion at The Wild Hunt.

      Today, the 10th of December in 1968, the American Trappist monk, mystic, spiritual writer, social justice activist, and advocate of interreligious dialogue, Thomas Merton died. The Episcopal church marks this date as a feast for a saint. And in my own way I try to keep this small feast, as well. What […]

Because the Black Panthers were created and developed in black neighborhoods, identitarians assume the Panthers were a racial organization. This makes as much sense as assuming that because Marx and Engels were Europeans, Marxism is “white”.You could argue that the Black Panthers began with a racial focus. You cannot argue that they did not quickly move past focusing on race to focusing on class

Today I start a three day box making class at the Eureka Springs School of the Arts. Due to covid 19 restrictions, I have a small class of only 4 students, so each will receive plenty of personal attention.  Yesterday I finished a two day photo shoot with Barry Dima from Fine Woodworking. We made three boxes under the watchful eye of a Canon camera with huge lens, and flash. The boxes we made and photographed in process will serve as examples for my students as we begin class. A friend of mine, Ron Hansen, PhD, professor emeritus from Western Ontario University and the founder of the Human Ingenuity Research Group offered the following comment on my new, yet-to-be released book: Congratulations Doug and Linden. This book is so crucial t...

                                                       The Chalica Song performed at a Unitarian Universalist congregation. Regular visitors to this little pop stand at the far end of the cul de sac know that the proprietor is a proud Unitarian Universalist and quite fond of the faith’s quirky adherents .  But, oh boy, are we ever an earnest bunch fiercely proud of our history and heritage , our anti-racism , progressive social justice activism , and non-creedal religion .  Toss in the large numbers of Humanists who break out in rashes at the mention of God and we can be the butt of a lot of jokes, not all of them as semi-fond as Garrison Keillor’s . Take the recent development of Chalica for exampl...

“Gathered here in the mystery of the hour …”  How does a concrete, sequential thinker think of these words, and will the interpretation of these words be different for the abstract random thinker? What, to you, is the mystery that draws humans to gather?

Within the world of agriculture, there is a vital part of crop growing known as letting land “lie fallow.”  To fallow a piece of earth is to leave it deliberately unsown – to let it rest. This time of rest allows more fertility to gather in the soil, guaranteeing a better crop later. It is […] The post Fallow Season ~ Burnout, Fatigue, and Sacred Rest appeared first on Nature's Sacred Journey.

Editorial Note: TWH uses quotations on “witches,” “witchcraft,” and “witch-hunt” to denote there appears no association with modern Pagan or Witchcraft practices. The victims of “witch-hunts” are usually not Pagans, Witches, or practicing any spiritual practice typically considered Pagan. Content warning: Graphic depictions of violence TWH – In late July the Human Rights Council of the United Nations adopted a resolution focused on eliminating accusations of “witchcraft” and ritual attacks but attacks, assaults, and murders continue to occur within African and other countries around the globe. Continue reading The legacy of “witch-hunts” continue at The Wild Hunt.

I have been told that in Japanese tradition today, the 9th of December is marked as the moment that Huike presented his arm to Bodhidharma as evidence of his desire to enter the intimate way. This is one of foundational moments in the mythic origins of the Zen way. The event is captured as a koan, […]

We did it! We made it to the finish line of another plague year! Just a few more weeks left. Even though it’s not New Year’s Eve yet, uncork some bubbly to celebrate. We earned it. Our big wish for the new year: no more COVID variants. Delta, Mu, Omicron . . . Worst. Upgrades. Ever. Before we slam the door on 2021, we need to applaud and thank our authors and staff for the blog posts they wrote for the Broadside.

The social media firm owes a debt to Rohingya youth.

Yesterday I began making 3 boxes for Fine Woodworking, with Barry Dima taking photos of each step. The boxes have been glued up overnight and are waiting for the next steps which we'll take photos of today.  We had been scheduled to do this article earlier,  but the Covid 19 pandemic brought delays. I was too busy yesterday posing for shots, and forgot to take any myself. I'll try to remember to take photos today. The photo shown is one from an earlier visit from Barry Dima in 2018 in which I demonstrated making a mitered box joint. Make, fix and create...

As Pagans begin to gather in person again, I hope we’ll give some extra thought to the aesthetics of our spaces. How can we make them temples to the glory of our Gods and shrines to the power of our magic, even if only for an evening?

                                                                      It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas sung by Johnny Mathis. Note — This is the latest the Festival has ever featured this American pop Christmas standard.  It usually runs shortly after Thanksgiving as seasonal decorations and music seem to explode around us.  This year here in Northern Illinois we have the decorations and music, but we have hardly been touched by more than aimless snow flurries, so we are missing that white Christmas look.  Perhaps in a few days it will begin to snow on cue like it does in all of the cable rom-coms as the star-crossed lovers overcome all on Christmas Eve. There are many subsets in ...

As I’ve let go of strict ideas of ‘belief’ and ‘knowing,’ and let myself release into a felt sense of mystery, my relationship with the world around me has grown deeper and more meaningful. What belief can you let go of that will help you form a deeper relationship with the world?

Manhattan district attorney's office announced that billionaire Michael Steinhardt has surrounded 180 stolen antiquities. Continue reading Stolen antiquities surrendered by billionaire collector at The Wild Hunt.

The Wisdom of Water Striders An Online Service with Reverend Stephen Shick   Not long ago, I enjoyed watching water striders at the quiet edges of ponds, lakes, and streams. Those edges are frozen now. Yet, I carry the memory of these tiny fragile creatures into this season of darkness. In this season the world  has gone   [ … ] The post Sunday, December 12 ~ The Wisdom of Water Striders ~10:30 a.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

Popularity of the word “racist” from Google Ngram Viewer“Racist” was coined surprisingly late—the Oxford English Dictionary gives the earliest example in 1919. During the first half of the twentieth century, racists were proud to be racist, but for three decades after the end of Jim Crow, everyone knew racists were despised by most Americans, so both David Duke, a Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan

Pulpit Exchanges and a Foray to Baltimore [video forthcoming] New England Ministers of the 18th and 19th centuries typically exchanged pulpits with one or another neighboring minister one or two Sundays a month. As sermons then were scholarly labors: painstakingly constructed essays about an hour and half long, creating a new one every week was not sustainable. The pulpit exchange allowed for prior work to be re-used for a new audience. The liberals didn’t mind having conservative guest preachers in their pulpits because, for liberals, doctrine wasn’t terribly important. For conservative ministers, however, doctrinal orthodoxy was essential, so conservatives increasingly refused to do any pulpit exchanges with liberal ministers. The ...

By restoring and expanding the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” program, Biden has again turned his back on people seeking refuge.

I am excited to announce that both the Hibbert Trust and the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Joseph Gittler Fund for Religion and Ethics will be partially funding the research for my forthcoming book (w/ Brill) “Unitarian Universalist Theologies” (publication anticipated in spring 2023).

As the snow casually drifts down from a gray sky, we catch one on a glove and then another. They really are different in size and shape and texture and yet it’s still called snow and depending on the weather conditions, it exists or melts ... read more . The post Co-Ministers’ Colloquy – Dec. 7th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

HOLIDAY STORY TIME: You and your children are invited to join me for Holiday Story Time on Tuesday, 12/14, from 6-6:30 pm. Let me know if you have any special story requests. UPCOMING RE CLASSES: K-6 EXPERIENCES WITH THE WEB OF LIFE: These nature lovers will meet again online ... read more . The post RE This Week – Dec. 7th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

On Friday, January 7th, from 7-8:30 pm, the Hudson Mohawk Cluster of UU Congregations will host its second annual online, multigenerational, multi-congregational Trivia Night! Back by popular demand will be the music round of “name that UU hymn,” and a photo round. New this year, a trivia ... read more . The post Multigenerational, Multi-congregational Trivia Night appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

The Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregationin McHenry presents Leaves of Tree of Life—A Virtual Verse Night on Saturday, December 11 from 7 to 9 pm on Zoom. Poetswill share original work. Hosted by Patrick Murfin and featuring Tricia Alexander, Kenneth Balmes, Sue Rekenthaller, and Jane Richards. Tricia Alexander is a musician, poet, and spiritual teacher who has been performing for more than 40 years.  Her newest book is Excerpts From A Sonnetary Life . The program is free to the public, but donations to the Compassion for Campers, the program that serves the unhoused in McHenry county who will spend all or part of the winter monthscamping outside, sleeping in vehicles, or couch surfing, will be accepted and appreciated. The...

Taryn Strauss Each Advent, my empathy for Mary’s situation returns. Continue reading "The Blessing of Choice"

      Some years ago the Zen priest Tom Hawkins wrote: We have arrived in Bodghaya. Thousands of other pilgrims, us, and then two thousand Tibetan monastics for a special gathering. Beyond words to be at the bodhi tree in the evening with such a crowd. And to make offerings and devotional gestures. Yet, […]

                                             It’s Christmastime (Let’s Just Survive) by Kathleen Edwards.   And now for something new !   Well, from 2019 but still fresh .   It is also a perhaps refreshing dissent from the relentless cheerfulness and sentimentality of so many Christmas songs .   A lot of us have felt something like this but have stifled ourselves so as not to be a buzz kill .   It’s Christmastime (Let’s Just Survive) by Canadian singer/songwriter Kathleen Edwards tells it like it sometimes really is. Edwards wrote about her song: It’s that time of the year where you click the radio, and there’s the standard Christmas fare. I was like, none of these are actually what Chris...

Australian Wood , a woodworking magazine in Australia has posted a review of my new book, The Wisdom of Our Hands.   It is a very positive review that you can read here. In the meantime, my own teaching at the Clear Spring School is over for the holiday season. I'm working on an article for Fine Woodworking with an editor visiting from magazine headquarters in Connecticut and I have a 3-day box making class beginning at ESSA on Friday.  Make, Fix and Create...

        The Bodhi Tree in Fayette, Maine A Dharma Talk for Rohatsu Edward Sanshin Oberholtzer Resident priest and guiding teacher at the Joseph Priestly Zen Sangha Empty Moon Zen Despite the lateness of the hour, I’d like to put in a plug for the coming dawn. I know it’s late, trust me, […]

In the era before smartphones, it was common to wonder about something and not know the answer. Today, it is more common to open Google and search. Answers are often right at our fingertips, but this easy access to information comes at a spiritual cost. Wonder about something and sit in the mystery today. Don’t … Continue reading No Mysteries

Loss of habitat and rapidly diminishing winter food sources of seagrass, manatees face the peril of starvation without intervention. Continue reading The seagrass famine and the Florida manatee at The Wild Hunt.

Part Five of a history I’m writing, telling the story of Unitarians in Palo Alto from the founding of the town in 1891 up to the dissolution of the old Unitarian Church of Palo Alto in 1934. If you want the footnotes, you’ll have to wait until the print version of this history comes out … Continue reading "Unitarians in Palo Alto, 1921-1925"

Observing democracy in action in a critical presidential election.

J. Estlin Carpenter ’ picture in the Cambridge Unitarian Church As most of you know by now, my interest in Shin Buddhism comes via reading Tanabe Hajime, and I read Tanabe, in part, because he studied with Heidegger. Heidegger’s thinking is a key influence on me and, towards the end of his life, in a notebook, it seems he wrote: “Today, I read Tannisho. If I had known about the Buddhist monk Shinran a decade ago, I wouldn’t have studied Greek and Latin but Japanese so as to learn and spread the teachings of him for a lifetime. But it’s too late.”    (Can anyone out there provide a proper source for this quote? I’d be very grateful) Mark It is these (and other) philosophical/religious links that drew me to study Shin (at l...

                                                                      I'll Be Home for Christmas sung by Bing Crosby. Eighty years ago today the Japanese launched their devastating surprise attack on Pearl Harbor thrusting the United States into a bloody worldwide conflagration and forever altering the lives and destinies of millions.  It also cast a somber pall over Christmas festivities getting underway stateside just as the last vestiges of the Great Depression were being shaken off and folks had money to spend for a change. With a long war ahead with families and sweethearts wrenched by separation and fear, people turned to music for comfort, especially at Christmas time.  There were many w...

      AWAKENING A Zen Reflection 2021 Zoom Zen Retreat Empty Moon Zen Tom Daimon Wardle Senior Dharma Teacher     True confession: I do not want to give this talk today. Actually, I’ve had several months to savour the dread of today’s talk since “awakening” was chosen as the theme for this sesshin. […]

Lots of people talk about destiny: how to find it, how to follow it, how to fulfill it. Some offer to help people do all these things… for a price. Not enough people talk about what destiny is, if you have one, and most importantly, if you even want one.

As 2020 and 2021 was filled with so much death and destruction, especially of Black and brown bodies, I have turned to trying to understand or uncover different spiritual traditions and their understandings of mysteries. If I am connected to the divine or there are mysteries to explore and comprehend, then the sacred  cannot be … Continue reading Sacred Bodies

Dear Republicans with a conscience, I know you’re out there. You don’t like Trump, and you do like a functioning democracy. Your party is going to nominate him again, it seems virtually certain. So, my friends: are you going to get serious about starting a new party? And are you going to put everything you’ve […]

This is the third in a series of essays about the COVID-19 pandemic as it relates to UU congregations and religious exploration. “The Church has Left the Building” – May 2020 “On Reopening and the Least of These” – July 2021 “Brave is a hand-me-down suit from terrified as hell.“ Andrea Gibson (they/them), American Poet … Continue reading "As We Knew It: A Challenge to Dream"

In this week's Pagan Community Notes, December skywatching, "Ecneics" is not a "Pagan" word, the band, Faun, releases a new video, and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of December 6, 2021 at The Wild Hunt.

The U.S. must respect the results of the historic democratic election in Honduras.

Amida Buddha, Zenrinji Temple, Kyoto A member of Cambridge Unitarian Church (where I am the minister) got in touch with me to say they had clicked on the final link of my last post ( That-Which-Is-To-Come — A short Advent meditation on Yeats’ poem, “The Second Coming” ) and had seen that the phrase “infinite light and life” took the interested reader to the Wikipedia article on  Amida Buddha . In the Shin Buddhist tradition (Jōdo Shinshū) Amida Buddha “is the buddha-nature in everything.”  On the church’s internal message board (we use SLACK) I tried to outline why I had done that. It seems not inappropriate to republish that piece here. —o0o— So here, in a nutshell, is why I added that link . . . In Alfred Bloo...

                                                                      Jolly Old St. Nicholas by Chicago.   This is St. Nicholas Day, a day when children in the Netherlands and across much of Northern Europe awake to find their stockings or shoes filled with candy, nuts, oranges, and small toys left behind in the night by the sanctifiedBishop.  It is also still observed in some American families, though the practice seems to be fading.  Our three daughters always found their stockings filled until they were adults.  It is also a good day to trot out Jolly Old St. Nicholas, America’s oldest secular Christmas song—if you discount Jingle Bells which was not intended to be linked to the holida...

      Evelyn Underhill was born in Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands, on this day, the 6th of December, in 1875. She would grow to become a poet and novelist, as well as one of the most important interpreters of mystical Christianity in modernity. I’ve written about her and her importance to me personally, […]

When I was a child growing up Muslim, I never internalized Allah as a person. My mother always referred to Allah as energy. It was always a mystery to me what a divine being who was energy would look like. A sunburst? A comet? A shooting star? The moon? I never could come up with … Continue reading Mystery of the Divine

 “The movement for racial justice has shifted its focus from inequality to “disparity,” while neatly evading any critique of the structures that produce inequality.” — Adolph Reed Jr.During the civil rights era, we thought racial and economic justice were linked. We especially wanted three things:To end poverty with Basic Income.To raise the minimum wage.To provide free higher education so

TWH covers a series of events celebrating Krampusnacht, a holiday celebrating a somewhat less friendly Yuletide spirit. Continue reading The running of the Krampus into modern times at The Wild Hunt.

In this sermon, I encourage us to open ourselves to the beauty of the world and the miracles that surround us.

                                                                      Bohemian Chanukah by Six13. Note —It’s a two-fer today so we can celebrate the eighth and final night of Hanukkah! Elaborate parodies have become very popular for Hanukkah in recent years.   Jewish a cappella group Six13. Six13 is a groundbreaking, six-man a cappella vocal band bringing new styleand energy to Jewish music.   Eight award-winning albums have landed Six13 among the top Jewish music artists on iTunes and Spotify. Music from those albums has been adapted by choirs worldwide, played on mainstream radioacross the globe, and selected for ten “best-of” compilations.   They have awards from the Harmony Sweepst...

Welcome back to the Sanctuary! What shall we do next? Maura Taylor joins us to update us on Self Help, Inc.'s current work as we kick off Self Help month. [Note: this service may postpone until 12/12]

Sometimes new boots can give you blisters if you wear them too long too soon. My new boots are more serious, heavier and sturdier than my old ones, so they really do require a “break-in” routine. Impatient as ever, I thought the laps around the house had prepared both my boots and my feet for […]

“You have to pick. That’s the fundamental problem. And one interest has to prevail over the other at any given point in time, and that’s why this is so challenging, I think.”[1] – Justice Brett Kavanaugh during opening arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, Dec. 1, 2021 Where is the voice of liberal religion […]

I've been listening to the Path To Learning Podcast when I work doing quiet things in my wood shop. Each episode has content that I've found valuable, and today I listened again to my own episode which was recorded last summer. I think that if you are interested in progressive education you'll find it and other Path To Learning Podcasts useful.  https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9wYXRodG9sZWFybmluZy5saWJzeW4uY29tL3Jzcw/episode/NmQ4MjI3YzgtZWQxYS00ZDBiLTkyNTktMzFhZDdlMmQzMWYx  The senses are key. They lure you into learning. If you've wondered about the difference between the concrete and abstract in the principles of Educational Sloyd, the difference is simple. The concrete contains a full range of senses, proving to hand and ...

"I hope all members will find a way to put their interests to use in work as a volunteer. Volunteering is a great way to learn how the parts of the church work separately and together. The volunteer has an opportunity to widen their perspective; get to know other members, develop talents, and take part in the planning and growth of All Souls. The post Centennial Awards: Judy Jarvis appeared first on BeyondBelief.

                                                                      Lo, How a Rose E're Blooming performed by the Robert Shaw Chorale. It is already the Second Sunday of Advent, and the Winter Holiday Music Festival has not yet featured a hymn appropriate for that period of anticipatory waiting.  We aim to fix that today with one of the oldest Advent carols, Lo, How a Rose E’re Blooming . Although Americans tend to believe that the Christmas Season begins as soon as the Thanksgiving dishes are washed, Catholics and most Protestants are clear that Christmastide does not begin until December 25 and continues for 12 days until the Feast of the Epiphanyon January 6.  Before that a distinct seas...

    Faustus Socinus, also known as Faust Paolo Sozzini and sometimes as Faust Socyn was born in Siena in Tuscany on this day, the 5th of December in 1539. He was educated at home and quickly fell under the influence of his uncle Celso, who encouraged the boy’s searching intellect, as well as another […]

A medium to A-list celebrities charges $1111 an hour and claims to channel Jesus Christ. It’s important not to jump to an atheist position just because this sounds outrageous. We need to learn to discern genuine messages from those that are not.

“We, bearers of the dream, affirm that a new vision of hope is emerging. We pledge to work for that community in which justice will be actively present. We affirm that there is struggle yet ahead. Yet we know that in the struggle is the hope for the future. We affirm that we are co-creators … Continue reading Hope