A caricature of Sylvia Beach. Sylvia Beach made her mark in wildly exciting post-World War I Paris when Americans and other English speaking expatriates flocked to the city for a taste of la vie boheme as a bookstore proprietor, center of social and intellectual lifefor a generation of writers, and almost accidentally as the publisher of the most notorious book of the 20th Century. She was born in a Presbyterian parsonage in Baltimore, Maryland on March 14, 1897.  Her father, the Rev. Sylvester Beach, was the son of missionaries to China and the most recent in a long line of Calvinist clergy.  The second of three daughters the very bright young girl was raised in every way to be a respectable American lady.  And she might well have be...

“We are all capable In different ways With various strengths and talents. We are all holy Part of the universe And the interdependent web.” -Cindy Fesgen What strengths and talents do you bring to the universe today?

I’m very, very close to writing the Dewey Decimal number on all the books in my office. Before anyone gets worried about incipient OCD (cue my wife saying: “Incipient?”), hear me out. There are about 10% of my books that I never know how to categorize. My office shelves have sections: worship resources like meditation […]

After last night’s snow storm, temperatures rose above forty degrees this afternoon. Carol and I took a long walk, winding up in Riverside Cemetery, where we were especially interested in the nineteenth century gravestones.

The fourth difficulty some Unitarians have with humility is that we can be proud of the way we are, and we don’t want to let that go. Many of us have a lot of education. I do – because I enjoyed wrestling with recondite texts and then meeting with others in classrooms and seminars to talk about them. That was my idea of fun, and I had enough generational privilege to be able to do that. Many of us tend to be proud of our schooling and erudition. Those years in school were good for something, we are convinced. They improved us. They made us better that we were. We might not like to admit out loud to the logical train that follows from that, but our egos put two and two together: if we now are better than our less educated former selve...

My friend the Reverend Mary Gates writes “Rabbi Yaakov Bleich, the Chief Rabbi for Ukraine, has asked Jews and Christians around the world to pray Psalm 31 in solidarity with those in Ukraine who are under attack. Apparently millions of people are saying this psalm daily, and in Ukraine people are praying it aloud in […]

TWH's Lyonel Perabo speaks with Adrian Ivakhiv, professor of environmental and cultural studies at the University of Vermont, about the role of Paganism in both the Ukrainian and Russian nations since the end of the Soviet Union. Continue reading Religious and civilizational aspects of the war in Ukraine: a discussion with Adrian Ivakhiv at The Wild Hunt.

    A Holy Curiosity:A Meditation on Albert Einstein and Nondual Religion James Ishmael Ford A Sermon delivered at the First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles 13 March 2022 The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when one contemplates the […]

with Rev. John & Tina DeYoe, DLRE  Sunday, Feb. 27th from 1-2pm & Sunday, March 13th from 1-2pm!  Register using this link: https://forms.gle/bzC3UmEP9v3DHQ7k9 *Masks and vaccinations required to attend. Our postponed chapel program is back in February! The new year is a great time for your family to learn about, and create a family covenant together, …<p> Family Chapels & Family Covenanting Read More »

Friends, our own Vitaliy Gyrya will present a special forum this Sunday on current events in Ukraine. Vitaliy, from Ukraine, will give opening remarks and then open the floor for questions and discussion. Please join us immediately after the service (Sunday 3/13) for this special forum.

Could following a Unitarian Universalist path be easier than we thought? Who is this guy? And what are the steps? You'll need to come to church to find out.

The tree in the above picture is covered in lace lichen, often mistaken for Spanish Moss, which does not grow in California. Lace lichen is common, however, and amazingly beautiful. I took the picture at Tomales Bay State Park during a hike this week. In 2016, lace lichen was added to the group of official […]

Spring is the season of hope, but my hope is rather uncertain at the moment. This year, I suggest we set our poetry aside and simply enjoy Spring for the sake of Spring. Enjoy the rebirth of the land. Enjoy Nature’s beauty.

I first understood interdependence in elementary school when I learned about the water cycle that happens on our planet. I felt so awestruck thinking that the water I was drinking was once rain in India that flowed to the sea. When we are in our silos, nations,  and families, it can be so hard to … Continue reading Water Cycle

Two years ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Coronavirus pandemic and suddenly, as if a light switch had been flicked everything changed.   We shut down and retreated to our homes, got used to mantras about masks, social distancing, and washing our hands for as long as it takes to sing Happy Birthday. I was getting ready for an event that I had been working on for months—Poets in Resistance II scheduled for Friday, March 13 at the Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation in McHenry, Illinois.   A year ago today, I had to abruptly cancel the event and scramble to contact all of the poets and volunteers and let the public know.   Still, I expected we could reschedule in a couple of month or so.  It never ha...

Many nights, I am tempted to skip that day’s drawing, but I’ve stuck to it every time. Usually, even if I don’t sit down to it until 10 p.m., the process gives me energy and I’m glad to be drawing. But last night, I really wanted a break from both drawing and piano practice, gave […]

    STOP THE WAR Tom Daimon Wardle Empty Moon Zen   A Ritual to Read to Each Other If you don’t know the kind of person I am and I don’t know the kind of person you area pattern that others made may prevail in the worldand following the wrong god home we may […]

On Tuesday, the Idaho House of Representatives passed a startlingly invasive anti-transgender bill. Weekend editor Eric O. Scott considers Pagan responsibility opposing these laws. Continue reading Editorial: Pagans must fight for transgender youth at The Wild Hunt.

There's a good saying, "If you break it, fix it." Unfortunately most folks don't know how to fix things anymore so we assume the things we've bought or in some way forced to be surrendered into our hands can be thrown away when our misadventures are complete. But what if what you've attempted to take is a whole nation and your insistence on taking over wreaks destruction that will surely last generations. What I have to say to Putin (and the Russian people), is that "What you're breaking each day, you will be required to fix." It's called reparations. And if Putin and the Russian people he's bankrupting think they can skate back to Moscow when it's all over, they should think again. During WWII, Finland had sided with Nazi Germany in the...

Please join us on Sunday (13 March 2022) at 11:00 AM for “The Home We Share with All Living Things” by. Rev. Barbara Jarrell. This will be an outdoor worship service with Rev. Barbara Jarrell and friends.  Please join us on the playground at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 9449 Ellerbe Road, Shreveport LA  71106 if … Continue reading "Online All-Ages Worship (13 March 2022)"

We will continue to watch the local COVID numbers and we feel encouraged by the dropping COVID case rates. Religious education classes for children and youth will resume on 20 March 2022 (please note that this is a change from last week’s religious education announcement). Starting next Sunday, the children and youth will join us … Continue reading "Children and Youth Religious Education Updates"

Please join us on Sunday (13 March 2022) at 9:00 AM for our adult religious education class via Zoom. This Sunday we begin our work through the book Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad. As the author says, “This is not a book you read, this is a book you do” and we … Continue reading "Online Adult Religious Education — 13 March 2022"

Please join us next Tuesday (15 March 2022) at 12 noon for our weekly Zoom lunch. Bring your lunch and meet up with your All Souls friends, have lunch, and just catch up.

“In order to survive the apocalypse– any apocalypse at all– we have to give up the counterfeit currency of self- sufficiency” -Sean Parker Dennison, from “How to Survive the Apocalypse,” in Breaking and Blessing How can you practice giving up the harmful myth of self-sufficiency?

A child with her doll sheltering from the bombing in Donetsk, Ukraine (Source: UNICEF) 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 a minister, I often find myself talking with and, in a painfully limited and inadequate way, trying to help, and finding help for, refugees and asylum seekers who, despite the many cruel and unfair blocks put in their way by the UK Government, have successfully made it to these shores seeking escape from poverty, hunger, fear, political and religious repression, and violence.  Whenever I meet a refugee or asylum seeker — or indeed, ...

It’s the birthday of the organizationthat the ranting right likes to blame for lesbianism, abortion, Godlessness, tolerance of immigrants and dusky minorities, and a general threat to the American way of life.   Yet the Girl Scouts of America (GSA) doesn’t seem to care and sails serenely and successfully on while the erstwhile conservative pet Boys Scouts have nearly collapsedin the wake of sex abuse scandals, financial mismanagement, a history racism, anti-Gay bigotry, and discrimination against women and girls.   The former BSAwas forced to admit Gay Scouts and leaders leading to their largest troop sponsor, the Church of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) to abandon them.   Opting to admitgirls to most programs caused Fox News tal...

Please join us on Saturday (12 March 2022) from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM for our monthly building and grounds work day. Along with the other inside and outside tasks, we will be digging a new hole for yet another rainbow banner — the fourth one replacing the third one that was recently stolen. This … Continue reading "Building and Grounds Work Day (12 March 2022)"

Please join us on Saturday (12 March 2022) at 10:30 AM for our weekly meditation group with Larry Androes. This is a sitting Buddhist meditation including a brief introduction to mindfulness meditation, 20 minutes of sitting, and followed by a weekly teaching. The group is free and open to all. For more information, contact Larry … Continue reading "Meditation with Larry Androes (12 March 2022)"

"I have wondered for a long time what makes a tarot deck “click” for someone. My first deck, a pocket-sized Rider-Waite-Smith that my partner took exactly one look at before it fell to me, was entirely opaque when I first picked it up. I didn’t know the symbols they featured or how they were used, and only the small folded paper included in the box offered any insight. I worried over it, put it down, came back to scour the nine-word summaries of each card and try again. I attempted a Celtic cross based on the inch-high diagram, a feat which has meant that my standard spread is just slightly misaligned from everyone else’s I’ve ever met. " Continue reading Column: Sortilege – Building a Tarot Deck Out of Traded Pieces at The ...

How do we center justice in the climate movement? Like many climate activists, the urgency of climate change drives my action.  That urgency encouraged me to affirm solutions like 100% renewables no matter the cost…until I started recognizing the costs. Without centering justice, our climate work “saves the planet” for a select few at the expense of countless others. Without climate justice, we sacrifice the people who are least responsible and most impacted.   It’s easy to say, “we must center justice!” We know it is much harder to do the work.  Even with the best of intentions, we struggle to create the trusting relationships critical to transforming our future.  And even with the deepest of convictions, we struggle to...

    I am a High School dropout. I am forever grateful for California’s community college system, its night school in San Diego offered me a way toward higher education. In my mid thirties, when I landed at Sonoma State University, I was pretty single minded about getting into graduate school, and moving as fast […]

Sunday, March 13 A Faith That Opens Windows of Hope A Hybrid Worship Service led by Rev. Stephen Shick Unitarian Universalism has carved windows in doors that separate and divide. It has put hinges on walls of exclusion and erected signs that read “all are welcome here.” Our faith affirms that what is true in any   [ … ] The post Sunday, March 13 ~ A Faith That Opens Windows of Hope ~ 10:30 a.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

Despite her celebrity and status as a beloved icon Helen Keller ended up on J. Edgar Hoover's list of Communists.  She was never a party member or more than casually connected to groups suspected of being "fronts" but she was a proud member of the Industrial Workers of the World and of the Socialist Party as well as a long-time advocate for working people and for Civil Rights despite her privileged  Southern roots. On June 9, 1949 J. Edgar Hoover did his part to fuel the growing anti-Communist hysteria sweeping post-World War II America when he released a “confidential” Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI)report that named scores of influential Americans, most of them in the movie and entertainment business as members of the Com...

We all share one planet. While we are all individuals, communities are made up of individuals.  Nations are made up of communities.  We  all need to be working together toward the good of all on the planet, including the humans and the animals and the plants. -Judy DiCristofaro (CLF) How can you live from your … Continue reading One Planet

Trying out an ink pen again . . .

New scholarship on Stonehenge suggests that it may also have served as a time-keeping device. Continue reading New research suggests Stonehenge was a time-keeping system while raising new questions at The Wild Hunt.

In response to the outpouring of concern, the UUA shares the most up-to-date information on how UUs in this country and around the world are responding and amplify the ways that we can all help.

A Q&A with Margaret Peacock and Erik L. Peterson | Early in 2020, we realized we were each in the process of collecting sources from the unfolding pandemic. Erik began focusing on the unfolding epidemiology of the pandemic when it was still limited to East Asia, while Margaret was paying close attention to the ways the pandemic was playing out in global media. We realized that we could produce something exceptional if we each brought our areas of expertise to the table to write a book that attempted to cross many facets of the pandemic experience.

Warp Corps Community Outreach , 114 N. Benton Street in Woodstockwill now offer free ride service to Community Power Shower Eventsat Willow Crystal Lake, 100 South Main Street in Crystal Lake. Empower Shower is a collaborative community event providing homeless individuals access to a variety of resources.   Warp Corps and Willow Creek will work together to provide transportation from Woodstock and surrounding townsfor the events that are held every first and third Mondays of every month from 10 am to 2 pm.   Regular pick-ups will be scheduled at the Woodstock Metro Station at 9:30 am and the Woodstock Wendy’s parking lot, 120 North Eastwood Drive.   Individualswho cannot meet at these locations and times can reach out to the Warp C...

Former wrongly accused death row inmate Gary Gauger donated grant money he received to Compassion for Campers. Gary Gauger , the wrongly convicted Richmond vegetable farmer who was falsely accused and convicted of the murders of his parents and spent two years and 9 months on death row, recently received a $900 grantfrom Witness to Innocence, a nonprofit that offers supportto wrongfully convicted death row exonerees.  Instead of keeping the money, Gauger donated the entire amount to Compassion for Campers which supplies camping gear and supplies to the homeless in McHenry County. Witness to Innocence received the money from one of the exonerees who did received compensationfrom the courts.  Nathson Fields served 18 years in prison for ...

Bruce Knotts Resources and compassion are needed to expand our care not just to those in Ukraine but in other parts of the world.

When I was a child we were taught about endangered whales, and the human activity that put them in peril. Even as a four-year-old, I was led to understand that how I participated in our society had effects beyond me, and that my choices were important to the interdependent web of existence. -Michael Tino (CLF) … Continue reading Save The Whales

No one gets every reading right. That’s OK – it’s not unethical to be wrong. It is, however, unethical to claim that we know more than we do, or that we know with more certainty than we actually have.

At five fifty four in the afternoon on the 10th of March in 1933, Long Beach, California was stricken with a terrible earthquake. The epicenter was actually off the coast southeast of the city. As it turns out, close enough. It lasted for ten seconds. Ten horrific seconds. There were as many as 120 casualties, […]

The fact that this tree is commonly called “California nutmeg” threw me into a tizzy for a few minutes. Nutmeg? It is very aromatic . . . Wait, but it’s a yew. Does nutmeg come from a yew? Mind reeling . . . but no. It’s just called that because its cones look a lot […]

Holy Mother of Life and Love,that which moves the seed to sprout,and the cell to divide,bless all who channel your Spirit.Give us your Strength to persevere,your Passion to flourish,your Peace to heal.Remind us of your divine feminine spark,which restores us into Relationship,Equity, and Justice.And help us build a world freeof supremacy and violence,where all can … Continue reading Blessing of the Divine Feminine

    I recall reading how someone quoted from the wonderful teacher Norman Fischer’s Mountains and Rivers Sutra. “When the Chinese encountered the word ‘dhyana’, the Pali word for meditation, they translated it into something that sounded like ‘dhyana’ in Chinese. They chose the word ‘Chan’ which became ‘zen’ in Japan. But ‘Chan’ or ‘zen’ […]

Liz Williams provides an overview of the Glastonbury Occult Conference 2022 that took place last month after being postponed last year due to the pandemic and lockdown. Continue reading Glastonbury Occult Conference 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

Refusing someone affirming care does not make them less trans, it makes them less safe. Trans kids are just kids. They deserve protection and admiration, not legalized bullying from the government.    Trans kids are Divine. Trans kids are God, Godde, Goddess, Love, Life embodied. Trans kids are holy.  -- UU Church of Tallahassee Director of Religious Exploration Helen Cassar Currently, there are approximately 150 anti-transgender bills moving through state legislatures across the country. From banning participation in sports, to so-called "bathroom bills," to legislation that criminalizes providing life-saving gender affirming health care, these bills are deadly for trans and nonbinary people of all ages. To those of you who are trans...

Dueling court decisions raise new questions about the future of the harmful Title 42 policy, but one thing is clear: The need is as urgent as ever to fully restore asylum at the border. 

On March 14th, at 1 p.m. Queer Spirit will broadcast an interview with me, done by Revs. Marvin Ellison and Tamara Torres McGovern. Queer Spirit is a regular feature of OUT Cast, a forum for LGBTQ+ issues broadcast on community radio every Monday. WMPG 90.9 FM from 1:00 – 1:30 p.m. (Livestream: WMPG.org) One of […]

David Kohlmeier You didn’t earn your worth, and you can’t lose it. Because you exist. Period. Continue reading "The Defiant Spark"

Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell, the breakout stars of 42nd Street received fourth and fifth billing respectively on the movie poster. When it premiered at the Strand Theater in New York City on March 9, 1933 42nd Street broke new ground for the American movie musical and struck a chord with Depression-weary audiences.  The reviews were practically ecstaticand when it opened nationwide on Mach 11 there were lines at the box offices.  The movie went on to earn Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Sound.  It became the template for a slew of film and stage musicals down to this day which is why many who see it now for the first time think it is cliché ridden.  It was not—it invented those clichés.  When audience first s...

Having lived in various environments throughout my life – rural, city, college campus, small town, and now on the road – I have realized that I feel my fullest self when connected to an interdependent community, where I know my neighbors, I am a regular at local businesses, and the people I know show up … Continue reading Neighbors

Covid metrics, according to CovidActNow.org, which we’ve been using for several months now, have Schenectady County solidly in its “medium” status, which is excellent news! On Feb. 27, we had space for 40 people to attend in-person worship in the Great Hall, ... read more . The post COVID Update March 8, 2022 appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Women have made strides in many areas but are still grossly under-representied. Our news editor sorts through the numbers and facts. Continue reading A general accounting on International Women’s Day 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

This past week included some real gifts of connection for us. A dear friend has been posting some very clever and funny photos on social media, and many people had commented that the images would make a great book and several of them were funny ... read more . The post Co-Ministers’ Colloquy – March 8th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

In-Person Religious Education programs Coming Your Way! K-6 EXPERIENCES WITH THE WEB OF LIFE: These nature lovers will meet again Sunday morning, 3/20, IN PERSON! We’ll start in the Great Hall with the service beginning at 10:30, and we’ll stay through the Story for All Ages; then ... read more . The post RE This Week – March 8th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

We are pleased to announce the annual call for applications for grants from UU Schenectady’s Social Justice Action Fund. We will offer grants between $2,500 and $5,500 for social justice initiatives and activities working towards bringing about systemic change. Applications are due by April 30, ... read more . The post UUSS Social Justice Action Fund appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Descriptions of the Volunteer Roles involved in Multiplatform Worship In Person Front Door Greeters (2 people, 9:30–10:35) One person stands outside so they are visible as people approach the building. This person greets people as they arrive, directs them to the contract tracing forms that are in ... read more . The post Sunday Multiplatform Worship Volunteering appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

My interview with foreword reviews came out today and can be read online.  https://www.forewordreviews.com/articles/article/reviewer-sarah-white-interviews-doug-stowe-author-of-the-wisdom-of-our-hands-crafting-a-life/ I thank Sarah White for an excellent review and for her thoughtful questions. In her introduction to the interview, Sarah notes the following: This week is all about hands so look down and ask yours if they’re happy. What, you don’t know? Well, do you let them play at things? Are they skilled at chopping vegetables or knitting quilts or throwing pots on a wheel or landscape watercolors or working gold and silver into innovative jewelry? Hands like to do things, with our brain’s inquisitive help. We’re not in the Ju...

Today is International Women’s Day.  Rooted in the international push for women’s suffrage and in the labor/socialist movements, the first celebration was held in 1911 on March 19, a date selected to commemorate the 1848 uprisings when the King of Prussia was compelled to acknowledge the power of the people.  The occasion and date were suggested by Clara Zetkin of the German Social Democratic Party at the second International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen in 1910.  Delegates from 17 countries representing trade unions, socialist parties, and working women’s clubs unanimously approved thecall.  News of the event, spread by the socialist press and word of mouth helped make the first observance successful in much of Eu...

The towering sculptures of Janet Echelman are reminiscent of the Unitarian Universalist 7th principle recognizing that we are all connected in an interdependent  web of existence. These massive webs of netting often span city blocks and weigh tons, but the slightest breeze can send ripples through the entire sculpture, just like the web of existence … Continue reading Tending to the Net

I spent Saturday at Austin Witchfest in Austin, Texas. This was the first large Pagan gathering I’ve attended in two years, and my first time speaking live in almost three years. It was good to be back.

The tree of so many Hebrew Bible verses. Native, yes, to the Middle East and Turkey, and planted in the Southeast and along the Pacific coast here.

Religion News Service reports: “Tom Johnson loves baseball. And he loves the [Christian] church. Both, said Johnson, a former Minnesota Twins pitcher turned pastor, are in trouble. They’ve lost touch with their past and with ordinary people. They’ve become too much of a show, their leaders too disconnected from their audience, he said. Both religion … Continue reading "Baseball and religion are both in decline"

International Women’s Day calls for a dramatic rethinking of the social systems that have led us into crisis.

In response to the outpouring of concern, the UUA shares the most up to date information on how UUs in this country and around the world are responding and amplify the ways that we can all help. Continue reading "Supporting Those Impacted by the Crisis in Ukraine"

In this week's Pagan Community Notes: International Women's Day, Stevie Nicks, Announcements and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of March 7, 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

A Q&A with Jonathan Rosenblum | I’m really excited to be in this discussion with Canadian comrades about what’s going on here in the States and the prospects for organizing in the period ahead. I actually started out many decades ago as a rank-and-file union member in the newspaper industry, as a member of the International Typographical Union, which now I think is part of the Teamsters.

    I find the great gift of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition is expressed within the four seals of existence, the two truths, and the three bodies of the buddha. While I am wary of dogmas, I find these the most helpful pointers to the structures of the human heart of any I’ve encountered in […]

I would encourage each All Souls member to step out beyond the Church and select one of the social justice teams to volunteer. Your experience will broaden your engagement in the larger community and you will make a difference that will make you feel so good about what you are doing. The post Centennial Awards: Nancy McDonald appeared first on BeyondBelief.

For as long as I can remember I’ve misspelled interdependence as “interdependance”. Recently I’ve reflected that “-dance” is actually a better way of looking at it since interdependence relies on all of us leading and following one another. Sometimes we know where we are going and need others to follow and other times we are … Continue reading Dance

I went to lie down for a while between dinner and family game night last night and slept right through until morning. That’s the first time I’ve missed a drawing day since beginning the leaves on January 1. I’m particularly sorry to have missed out on Sushi-Go with the family. So I’m back to it […]

Inside and outside of Ukraine, crafters are creating projects to show solidarity with the Ukrainian people as they defend their country against the current Russian invasion. Continue reading Crafting for the Ukrainian Cause at The Wild Hunt.

Sometimes a usually easy trail can be very difficult. After spending most of the week in a virtual UURMaPA (Unitarian Universalist Retired Ministers and Partners Association) conference, we were eager for a long hike. We have hiked the Estero trail several other times out to Sunset beach and back, and usually the only issue is […]

Due to the recent COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic and the  restrictions limiting us from having worship in face-to-face settings, we need to find another ways to keep everything happening at All Souls. If you want to donate to All Souls, you can click on the link provided to our secure donations server. On this site, there … Continue reading "Online and Offline Giving Options During COVID-19 Pandemic — Updated 6 March 2022"

Faith. A noun and a verb at the same time. A state of being that requires us to be simultaneously future-focused and grounded in the here and now. Before we renew faith, we need to remember how we got here in the first place.

                                             Elizabeth Barrett Browning from the front plate of her Poems. It may have been the most famous—and wildly romantic—elopement since Romeo and Juliette .  The bride was a lovely but disabled spinster who happened to be perhaps the most famous living English poet at the time.  Her dashing beau was six years younger, of an inferior social class and just establishing himself as a poet of note in his own right.  They courted in secret—he contrived to visit her in the sick room to which she was mostly confined—and on September 12, 1846 ran off to be wed at St. Marylebone Parish Church in London then fled to sunny Italy in imitation of two of their mutual heroes

      I’ve been thinking a lot about the word freedom, and what it means. Over the past several years we’ve been presented with a number of views on the subject focusing on one’s right not to cooperate in a public health crisis.  Then, abruptly, we’ve found ourselves confronted with a nation being invaded […]

Our seventh principle (respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part) has long been my favorite one. I have a vivid memory of learning about how ecosystems work in 9th grade biology class and having a light bulb moment of, “Oh! This is exactly what we talk about in … Continue reading Faith

A Christian blogger suggests “bringing God on vacation with you.” His post brought back some old trauma from my childhood. But it raises a fair question: when you do you need to maintain your spiritual practice and when do you need a break?

Spirit of Life and Love,which moves Human hearts,minds, and handsto care for our Neighborsand our Mother Earthfill our spirits with your Peace.Empower us to know our own strengthTo do JusticeTo love MercyTo walk Humbly.May we remember old ways,and create new ways,to be people of Peace in the world.And with blessing,transform the World’s painbefore it can … Continue reading Prayer for Peace in Ukraine

Please join us on Sunday (6 March 2022) at 11:00 AM for “Heart of the Storm:  Living Into the Answers” by. Rev. Barbara Jarrell Please join us in the sanctuary at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 9449 Ellerbe Road, Shreveport LA  71106 if you are able to do so. Our service will also be livestreamed on … Continue reading "Online All-Ages Worship (6 March 2022)"

Please join us on Sunday (6 March 2022) at 9:00 AM for our adult religious education class via Zoom. This Sunday’s topic is Anti-Racism Within Islam. In a sermon now known as the Farewell Address, the Prophet Muhammad said: “There is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab, or of a non-Arab over an … Continue reading "Online Adult Religious Education — 6 March 2022"

We will continue to watch the local COVID numbers and we feel encouraged by the dropping COVID case rates. Religious education classes for children and youth will resume on 13 March 2022. As before, the children and youth will join us in the sanctuary for the first 15-20 minutes of the worship service and then … Continue reading "Children and Youth Religious Education Updates"

Melissa Lewis will be at the church parking lot this Sunday afternoon (6 March 2022) from 2:00 to 4:00 PM to collect food and other items for the Noel United Methodist Church Food Pantry. Items requested this month are Jiffy cornbread mix, canned soups (any brand), and cereal (any brand).

"Yet, when the world's events, like the weather, paint a picture that appears to be without hope, I wonder where or how - or even when - Ma'at's scales will balance." Continue reading Opinion: Scales of Justice in a Time of Trauma at The Wild Hunt.

Our give-away-the-plate recipient for March 2022 is The Power Coalition for Equity and Justice. Each month we dedicate all of our non-pledge income to an organization doing the work that best embodies our Unitarian Universalist principles and values. For the month of March 2022, we selected the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice — an … Continue reading "The Power Coalition for Equity and Justice — March 2022 Give-Away-The-Plate Recipient"

Please join us next Tuesday (8 March 2022) at 12 noon for our weekly Zoom lunch. Bring your lunch and meet up with your All Souls friends, have lunch, and just catch up.

Wiccan priestess and hundreds of faith leaders participate in Global Prayers for Ukraine at a Multi-faith Service for Peace. Continue reading Multi-faith service for Ukraine held at the U.N. church center at The Wild Hunt.

                                                               F redi Washington could have passed for White but wouldn't. Fredi Washington wowed audiences in the first version of Imitation of Life released in 1934 by Universal Pictures.   Starring Claudette Colbert, Louise Beavers, Warren William, and Rochelle Hudson, Washington didn’t make the cut in movie postersreleased for most theaters and was billed sixth despite playing a pivotal role.   Adapted from Fannie Hurst’s bestselling novel the film was a melodrama about the plight of working and single mothers during the Depression, deep friendship between a White widow and a Black mother, and the harsh realities of race in segregated America....

I have just read through what seems to me to be a very important article by Volodymyr Artiukh for Open Democracy called “The Western Left doesn’t understand Putin – or the world outside the US”: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/russia-ukraine-western-left-doesnt-understand-putin-or-the-world-outside-the-us/ As someone from the Western Left I take what Artiukh says very seriously indeed and I ask you to do likewise.  A friend of mine wrote to me yesterday asking me what I thought about this article and, for what it is worth, I paste below a few sections from my reply: As you know, I've been involved in left politics all my life in one way or another, and Artiukh's words resonate very strongly with me because many of my Britis...

“Love as a religious practice extends our compassion, solidarity, and care beyond the personal to seeking the liberation and wholeness of every person. It reminds us of our fundamental interdependence with all of life.” – Rev Susan Frederick-Gray, UUA President How can you practice love today?