This month the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair, New Jersey, where I attend, is focusing on the theme of beauty. Beauty is everywhere, especially in nature. The Rev. Scott Sammler-Michael said in his sermon that entire industries criticize how we look. He said they tell lies that we need certain make-up, surgery, or some new […] The post There is beauty in ritual without the glitz and glamour appeared first on Nature's Sacred Journey.

Please join us on Sunday (29 May 2022) at 11:00 AM for “Poetry for Peace — A Memorial Day Service” by the members and friends of All Souls. We will be meeting in the sanctuary for this worship service.  Please join us in person at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 9449 Ellerbe Road, Shreveport LA  … Continue reading "All-Ages Worship (29 May 2022)"

Please join us on Sunday (29 May 2022) at 9:00 AM for our adult religious education class via Zoom. This Sunday we continue 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 — 29 May 2022"

On this Sunday (29 May 2022), children and youth religious education classes will continue to meet in person during our 11:00 AM worship service. We have resumed our pre-COVID practice where the children and youth will join us in the sanctuary for the first 15-20 minutes and then we will sing them out to their … Continue reading "Children and Youth Religious Education (29 May 2022)"

Please join us next Tuesday (31 May 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.

I have received a few love letters from some of the 1,567 CLF members currently experiencing incarceration. But what’s more common than love letters are the letters of deep appreciation. People express their gratitude for nonjudgmental connection; for the words of hope that we write; for our ability to make a prisoner feel worthy. Everyday … Continue reading Worthy

TWH's Karl Seigfried speaks with Stephanie Smith Pasculli, a Heathen currently serving as part of the crew of the Draken Harald Hårfagre, a ship built in the style of the Viking Age, about life on the ship and the relationship between historical reenactment and modern Heathenry and Paganism. Continue reading On a Viking ship – an interview with Stephanie Smith Pasculli at The Wild Hunt.

I read about a country western music star, a grammy award winner, who backed out of the NRA convention. He said, however, that he was a "proud gun owner." What is there about gun ownership that could make a man feel proud? A young man, 18years or or in some cases younger, can own an assault rifle giving him the potential of taking lives from innocent folks. Would it be more fitting to state one's embarrassment instead? And yet the world seems to be full of "proud gun owners." We've far too many of them, and far too many guns.  Gun manufacturers have used advertising to attempt to associate their products with military bravery, but should guns not be seen as an expression of cowardice instead? Would it not be a better world if we would w...

The last couple weeks have been focused on healing in our household. My partner Margy had knee replacement surgery, and came home to recuperate after a couple days in the hospital. Then, one of our cats, Billie, perhaps from the stress, stopped eating, and had something going on with her liver. So the vet came […]

At 5 a.m., I got up to make breakfast. The temperature was about 45 degrees — cool enough for a sweater, a jacket, and a warm hat. After eating breakfast and packing up, I spent some time looking at the huge mistletoes growing on a nearby oak tree. Two of them must have been more … Continue reading "Two Oaks to Coe State Park HQ via Poverty Flats"

Coe State Park is a magical place, and I decided to return there one last time before we move to Massachusetts. I left the park headquarters at 11:50 a.m., and began hiking up Monument Trail. It was slow going with a full pack, but even at my slow pace I overtook an amateur herpetologist who … Continue reading "Coe State Park HQ to Two Oaks"

              It was on this day, the 18th of May, in 1871 that the uprising we know as the Paris Commune, the Commune de Paris, fell…

      Julia Ward Howe was born on the 27th of May, in 1819. She was half of one of the nineteenth century’s genuine power couples (Her husband Dr Samuel Gridley Howe was the founding director of Perkins School for the Blind was the first person to develop a system for educating the deafblind.), she […]

  Members of the Grand Army of the Republic and its Lady's Auxiliary gathered to dedicate the Civil War monument in Woodstock Square in 1909.  The four cannon tubes that guarded the monument were removed and melted during World War I scrap iron drives but their stone bases remain.  Note— We will be revisiting Decoration Day/Memorial Day posts this weekend beginning with this on from 2018 In 1909 the aging veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) and its Ladies’ Auxiliary gathered on the Square in Woodstock, Illinois on what was then known as Decoration Day .   Something made this gathering different from others held annually since General John A. Logan, the first Commander-in-Chief of the GAR issued General Order No. 11 i...

A short  “ thought for the day” offered to the Cambridge Unitarian Church as part of the Sunday Service of Mindful   Meditation  (Click on this link to hear a recorded version of the following piece) —o0o— I acknowledge that this coming week, in the United Kingdom anyway, there will be no opportunity entirely to avoid the celebrations for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Given this, I’d like to offer you a provocative but, I hope, constructive thought-experiment about monarchy that you might wish to think through over the next seven days, namely, anarcho-monarchism. Now, lest my mention of anarchism unduly frightens the horses from under some of you, please remember that, etymologically speaking, the word “anarchy” simpl...

Please join us on Saturday (28 May 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 (28 May 2022)"

When I was a small child home was simply the house in which I lived. My parents and siblings were there, it held comfortable and familiar material belongings, and most rules and expectations were clearly defined. I was fed and cared for and most of my needs were provided for. I really did not think about how to define home because I did not know anything else. For a time, I just accepted that the environment my parents provided was what home was supposed to be. There is no clear point that I can remember when that began to change but change it did. Continue reading Column: A Lifetime of Looking for Home at The Wild Hunt.

Agape love was central to the beliefs and actions of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who defined it as “purely spontaneous, unmotivated, groundless, and creative. It is the love of God operating in the human heart.” To Dr. King, this powerful love inspired nonviolence and called for equality. How does love inspire you … Continue reading Love and Justice

Staff Writer Discussion guides and resources are available for Defund Fear.

  Amelia Bloomer should be remembered as one of the founding sisterhoods of the women’s movement as an attendee of the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, a lifelong suffrage and temperance reformer, a pioneering female journalist , and the first American woman to ownand publish a newspaper.   But she is not.   Instead she is remembered for a fashion fad or, if you prefer, a radical attempt to reform women ’ s clothing that she neither invented nor was the first to wear. Amelia Jenks was born on May 27, 1818 Homer, New York on the southern end of the Finger Lakes District.   Her family were respectable people of limited income but who encouraged all of their children to get some education.   Amelia, a very bright child, got a rudiment...

          Berry Crawford at Simplicity Zen, interviewed me about a lot of things, although the touchstone was the Zen path. For more about the Empty moon project. For about my work specifically.  

Our outdoor studies class is building a "survival structure" that they plan to use for an overnight campout.  In a survival structure  you need to use the materials at hand, and what we have on campus in large quantities is bamboo. Bamboo is a fascinating material. It grows quickly and has amazing strength. In much of the world it's used to build scaffolding for construction. It is actually a type of grass. It grows thick and in northwest Arkansas is considered a nuisance plant. Once planted, it is so hardy that it is difficult to eradicate. What the students have cut will soon be replenished. The photo shows student progress. Like a structure built many years ago, "Fanshaw's dwelling" it is a two room dwelling. I've proposed an articl...

Beloved, may we remember the ones we lost untimely, unjustly, and unhappily. As we put out small flags and cherished pictures, bake their favorite cake and fill vases with the flowers they planted last year or a hundred years ago, may we make space for the observances of grief. Grief...

“. . . To speak the truth in love, to dwell together in peace. This is our covenant.” Many Unitarian Universalist congregations recite these (or similar) words together each week to honor the covenant of the congregation. How do you receive a hard truth when it is spoken in love?

In May 2022, we hosted the webinar Fostering Local Climate Resilience through Disaster Response and Community Care.  Special thanks to Rev. Karen Hutt, Unitarian Universalist Trauma Response Ministry; Halcyon Westall with the UUA Disaster Relief Fund and Faithify; and Rev. Cynthia Cain for helping us all reflect on how to cultivate community care in response to climate disasters. What now? You can view the recording here .  Share it with your congregation to start a conversation on climate resilience and disaster preparedness!   Review the resources shared, including Rev. Cynthia Cain’s Climate Response Challenges & Suggestions , Rachel Myslivy and Rev. Ranwa Hammamy’s presentations on Climate Response and the Side With Love Acti...

The impacts of La Niña sticking around is likely to cause a continued increase in the number of hurricanes for the 2022 season according to forecasters. Continue reading NOAA predicts busy Atlantic hurricane season as La Niña sticks around at The Wild Hunt.

        “It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this.” Bertrand Russell It was on this day, the 26th of May in 1328 that the minister general of the Franciscan order and three other friars, including William of […]

  Remember them!  Honor them by fighting to stop the slaughter!  Just some of the Uvalde, Texas school massacre. We are all reeling but somehow not surprised at the latest murderous rampage at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.   Once again an easily and legally obtained assault weapon was used by a young man who just turned 18.   The Texas Governor and rafts of on-the-take from the NRA grifters in Congress warn us not to take action to end gun violence.   But we will not be limited to thoughts and prayers but will be committed to action.   Write and phone your Federal and State lawmakers, sign all the petitions—it can’t hurt—Sandyhook Promise one of several being widely circulated.   March for Our Lives, the student-...

Color is hard. I’m experimenting, seldom sure what’s working, enjoying.

Unconditional love for all beings is agape love. It is the love that drives us to connect with others, the love that asks us to work for the liberation of all people, and the love most often associated with the divine by people whose belief systems include that. How do you cultivate unconditional love for … Continue reading Agape (Love for All)

Our elected leaders have a moral obligation to end the epidemic of gun violence.

A look at some of this year's Beltane celebrations in the U.K. which had been on hiatus for the past two years due to the pandemic. Continue reading Beltane celebrations in the U.K. 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

The following statement was shared with the First Parish in Cambridge community in response to the latest gun related violence: We are living in a nightmare.  It is not the more than 1M deaths from Covid; it is not the catastrophic implosion of the environment that supports human life; it is not whiteness as an […]

Our gun violence nightmare strikes again. We’re mourning the nineteen students and two teachers who died yesterday in the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Sixteen others were wounded. To honor their memory, we’re sharing these poems from “Bullets into Bells,” a powerful call to end American gun violence from celebrated poets and those most impacted.

Sunday, May 29, 10:30 a.m. Called by Loss, Called by Hope, Called by Peace: Memorial Day Reflections Worship Service led by Nancy Rogers Join us on a journey of reflection as we gather to explore the ways we memorialize the brave servicepeople who gave their lives to preserve the values and blessings of our country.   After   [ … ] The post Sunday, May 29 ~ Called by Loss, Called by Hope, Called by Peace: Memorial Day Reflections ~ 10:30 a.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

One of the most important messages that I've learned we can share with children and teens when they’re feeling anxious is, “I’m sad about the news, and I’m worried. But I love you, and I’m here to care for you.” The post Tragedy in the News: Resources for children & families to process appeared first on BeyondBelief.

Susan Frederick-Gray UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray responds to the horrific violence at an elementary school in Uvalde, TX that took the lives of 19 children and two teachers. Continue reading "From the UUA President: We all deserve to live in our communities without fear."

As an end of the school year project with  our Kindergarten students (our Rainbow Group), we made a flag boat that the students will release into the White River while on a field trip in June. I made the boat. New CSS wood shop teacher Dustin Griffith used the school's laser engraver to make an identification plate, and the students made and decorated the flags.  Being released into the White River, the boat will travel to parts unknown, and if found, the engraved plate may lead someone to contact the school. The rather plain looking boat will get additional decoration in the pre-school before launch. Make, fix and create...

May 25, 2022, marks the second anniversary of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of four police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The UUA lifts up the life of George Floyd and honors his loved ones and his community, all of whom will have a painful and indelible memory in their hearts forever. We recognize that searing injustices and death as a result of police use of force and systemic racism continue within a militarized law enforcement that has changed little. As we resolved in 2020, the UUA is committed to making our congregations and communities authentically multicultural, multiracial, anti-oppressive spaces that dismantle anti-Blackness. We pledge to continue that important antiracist work, today and for the long haul. We r...

Melissa Jeter Growing connects me to ancestors who had their hands in the dirt because it was keeping them alive. Continue reading "I Am Here, Growing"

I routinely teach kids grades k-12, and remain heart broken by gun violence in the US and the refusal of the members of the Republican party to offer more than thoughts and prayers and while they urge that we have more guns, not less. When I think of the children at Robb Elementary or at Sandy Hook, or the other places visited by senseless gun violence, I see the innocent faces of my own kids and pray that congressional inaction is brought to an immediate end.  We've no excuses. They've no excuses. From Sandy Hook and Columbine on, nearly all Republicans have fought against any sort of restrictions on gun ownership. At the same time, while claiming that the problems are mental health related, they've offered no solutions or leadership i...

  The Jail Brakers logo was created by families of the program's first pilot group who stated they wanted a support that would help break the cycle and reduce their suffering.  Jail Brakers , the program that offers support and services to the familiesof incarcerated individuals, is gearing up after the Coronavirus pandemic under the direction of new leadership.   Cheryl Niemo, the visionary founderand longtime director of the program, has retired from that roleand James Carpenter is taking the reins. Due to her personal experience with the incarceration of a family member and her experience in the social work field, Niemo founded Jail Brakers in 2009 to address the stigmarelated to incarceration and to provide meaningful resources to...

An atheist social scientist found that reason doesn’t lead people to atheism, and he’s honest enough to admit it. In this post I want to explore why religion in general and Paganism in particular are very reasonable things.

One of the meanings of “osier” is the pliable twigs of trees that can be used to make baskets. This tree is well-named, because the twigs are bright red. The leaves are green until cold weather, but I just had to draw one in its fall colors.

      Many years ago now, Jan and I and some friends visited Ireland. While in Dublin, in Merrion Square, we saw the famous statue of Oscar Wilde lounging on a rock. It’s quite the piece of art.  As, of course, was Oscar. Following his disastrous libel lawsuit against the Marquess of Queensberry, Oscar […]

A district court order forcing the government to retain Title 42 must not be the last word.

This Week: 5/6/7 Grade OWL (Our Whole Lives sexuality education): Their next session is THIS Sunday, 5/29, at 5 pm (Memorial Day weekend). They’ll meet in the large, third-floor classroom in Waters House. Masks are required and there is an air-filtration unit in the classroom. Next Week: K/1st/2nd ... read more . The post RE News appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

June 5th: A Horse of a Different Color June 12th: Bridging and Flower Communion June 19th: TBD June 26th: General Assembly Sunday Service, 12:00 noon. (No service at 10:30 am) Gather in the Great Hall for a watch-party and connection, or attend on-line! July 3rd: Interdependence Day weekend. We ... read more . The post Upcoming Worship Plans to Note! appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

UU Wellspring is a 10-month spiritual deepening course. Group members experience deep listening and spiritual reflection in small groups of about ten, inspiring personal and community transformation. Participants read, view and respond to pre-session assignments that are focused on spiritual topics and UU Theology. This year ... read more . The post Registration is Now Open for UU Wellspring 2022-2023 appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Sue E. Houchins

Taken with a Fuji X100V Just click on the photo to enlarge it   It’s impossible for me to take a colour photo of people enjoying themselves by the seaside or in a park without unconsciously echoing or channelling the work of Martin Parr (b. 1952), something that this photo surely does.  One of the things pleasing about it to me is that there is nothing great or “original” about it neither in terms of content nor style. Too much is made of originality . . . or so it seems to me. All this photo is is a swiftly taken snapshot of ordinary people simply having a picnic and a good time on a sunny, Sunday afternoon on Jesus Green, Cambridge. The other unexceptional thing about it that I like is that it “captures” — if that is the ...

Just over five years ago, we met most of the members of UUSS for the first time. We were here for ten-ish days of a candidating week, having been invited by your wonderful Ministerial Search Committee, who had worked together for over a year to ... read more . The post Co-Ministers’ Colloquy – May 24th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

The third and final article in a series on Harvard Divinity School’s Conference on Ecological Spiritualities that focuses on Nature Sanctuaries and how Pagans incorporate conservation, restoration, and preservation in their spiritual spaces. Continue reading Pagan Nature Sanctuaries; Fairies as Guardians at The Wild Hunt.

When the judge asked us if we were prepared to have our daughter’s adoption finalized, he warned us that this decision was forever. Were we, he asked, prepared to love this child without end? Were we ready to commit to this journey, no matter how overwhelming it might get? We were. -Michael Tino (CLF) When … Continue reading Forever Day

It’s flying graduation caps season! We’re not post-pandemic, but graduates are embarking on a world stage that looks different from what it was two or three years ago. Some of those differences are alarming.

We’ve completed 2 very successful virtual UU the Vote events, thanks to you: Letter Writing and an online Watch Party & Election Justice Panel. But, there’s lots more to do before the mid-term elections: more letter writing, postcarding, text banking, and working the polls. We ... read more . The post #UUtheVote: 3-question Survey appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

This afternoon I took a spin out to Fulbourn Fen by bicycle in order then to take a walk along the Anglo-Saxon Fleam Dyke to the Bronze Age burial mound, Mutlow Hill. It’s a favourite route of mine and today, on the walk back home, I was blessed with some wonderful light and stormy clouds and I post five photos below for your enjoyment. And, in case you were wondering, yes, I did get very wet on the cycle ride home . . . All photos are straight out of camera jpegs taken with a Fuji X100V Just click on a photo to enlarge it     

  King William shown giving his assent to the Act of Toleration.  His wife and co-monarch Queen Mary concurred. All-in-all it sounded like a much bigger deal than it was when on May 24 William andMary gave their joint Royal Assent to England’s Act of Toleration of 1689.  The act gave relieffrom persecution to a narrow set of exclusively Protestant dissenters—including Puritans, Baptists, and some Quakers.  Such largess was not extended to Catholics, Jews, non-Trinitarians, and atheists—a term applied to virtually no one we would recognize as godless today , but to a great many folks with unorthodoxreligious scruples.  To even become eligible to stop being subject to arrest, imprisonment, and at least theoretically, execution b...

    Today, the 24th of May, the Romani, or at least some Romani, celebrate Saint Sarah, sometimes called Black Sarah, or Sarah the Black, Sara e Kali in Romani, as their patron. Like many popular saints in the Roman Catholic calendar, her historicity is shrouded. Some like the idea that her cult in fact […]

In this week's Pagan Community Notes: Mankiller quarter released UNHCR statement, Crossings of the Veil, and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of May 23, 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

Mania describes a kind of love that is entirely focused on the present moment, on passion or care or the euphoria of new love. When it goes on too long, it is not healthy, but it is natural to sometimes be overwhelmed by love. When have you been overwhelmed by love?

                                               A Northwest Canadian Mounted Police Constable in 1876. On May 23, 1873 acting on the advice of Canadian Prime Minister John A. Macdonald Queen Victoria gave her personal approval to the establishment of the North West Mounted Police.   Macdonald was keen on extending authority over the vast, lightly populated Northwest Territories, discouraging the ever expansionistUnited States from moving into the vacuum, and preventing the kind of full scale Indian warfare that characterized the American frontier. The unit was originally conceived of as an Army cavalry unitto be called the Northwest Riflesmodeled after the Indian Army’s famed Khyber Rifles.   But Macdonald ...

    It was today, the 23rd of May, in 1498, that the Dominican Friar Girolamo Savonarola was burned at the stake in Florence. He may be a bit better remembered for the falò delle vanità, the “Bonfire of the Vanities,” which occurred about a year before, on the 7th of February, in 1497. For a […]

I don’t want to stop spending time with this leaf, so I’ll continue tomorrow. May 22: Here’s today’s progress. It’s pretty much done, but I want to get some distance–literally and figuratively–and tomorrow I’ll change any areas that show they need it.

My readers will find this article from Forbes to be interesting, and perhaps this quote also from Louis Pasteur, leading it, "that chance favors the prepared mind."  https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidburkus/2013/09/25/are-you-wasting-your-10000-hours/ At the gym on Saturday, my weight lifting partners were discussing K. Anders Erickson's 10,000 hour rule, and that so many hours are expended by all of us in frivolous fashion. An example is that by the time a student graduates from high school, well in excess of 10,000 hours will have been spent in dispassionate time, sitting at desks, when in an alternate approach they might have become fully engaged in pursuit of passional interests. What does it take as far as a general investment of t...

Compassion for ourselves is a key component of our mental health. It is too easy to fall into a cycle of self-criticism and perfectionism. It is important to learn to forgive ourselves, to treat ourselves as we would want to have our loved ones treated. How do you stop the cycle of self-criticism?

Join us for our first ever indoor/outdoor service. We'll begin in the Sanctuary with our end-of-year celebrations, acknowledging our volunteers and this year's class of high school seniors. Then, the service moves outdoors for our annual flower communion ceremony. Afterwards, stick around and bring your picnic lunch as we tailgate, socialize, and celebrate the blooming flowers and our own reemergence.

I was in the Sierras last week so skipped writing that week of “Weekly” bread. It was a great trip, we took a hike on every one of the seven days we were there. No really long ones, mainly just 5-6 miles each, but then again we didn’t take any recovery days. We also walked […]

        American politician, San Francisco City Supervisor, and civil rights activist, Harvey Milk was born on this day, the 22nd of May, in 1930. I note this nearly every year. It’s important. In a more just world he would have been ninety-two today. However, in 1978 he was assassinated together with San […]

The S,S, Savannah coming into port under steam power in 1819. To get a handle on the audacityof the designers and owners of the SS Savannah , the first ship equipped with steam powerto cross the Atlantic Ocean, just thirteen years earlier in 1806 Robert Fulton had inaugurated passenger packet service on the Hudson River between New York City and Albany.   Despite the enduring American myth, Fulton had not invented the steamboat—a French inventor had demonstrated one briefly on the Seine as early as 1783 and by 1785 American John Fitch of Philadelphia and William Symington of Dumfries, Scotland had built successful prototypes.   But Fulton—a student of Fitch—was the first to build a successful commercial vessel. In the intervening...

On World Goth Day, Goths and adjacent folks celebrate who and what we are. We find beauty and meaning in what others find bizarre and disturbing. And we remember that sometimes, if they’re determined and careful and a little lucky, the monsters can win.

I don’t want to stop spending time with this leaf, so I’ll continue tomorrow.

At my wife's suggestion in 2006, I launched the Wisdom of the Hands blog with this blog post:   Independent schools like Clear Spring serve an important role in education. https://wisdomofhands.blogspot.com/2006/09/independent-schools-like-clear-spring.html Since then there have been over 2.5 million page views recorded reflecting an unknowable number of first time and returning visitors. My wife thought that by doing the log I would not need to write the Wisdom of Our Hands book, and that the one would take the place of the other. But the blog became my way of sifting and recording and practicing getting better at sharing the ideas inherent in the philosophy. The blog also helped me to be connected with like minds all over the world. I...

I call the queer ancestors the Rainbow Dead. This term specifies their special place in our collective histories as well as in our spiritual practices. Ancestors need not be of our blood in order to be potent allies in our lives and work. It just takes us getting to know them, and a recognition of the work that they did to lay a foundation upon which we today may walk. Continue reading Column: Becoming the Queer Ancestors at The Wild Hunt.

Learning to love myself fully means learning to love my body, even with its limitations. It means overcoming the internalized messages of ableism taught to me over and over by a society that values “productivity” above inherent worth and dignity. -Michael Tino (CLF) What messages have you had to overcome in order to love yourself?

The grand and glorious New York Public Library in a hand-tinted linen post card from the early 1930's . There may be taller buildings.   There may even be more beautiful buildings. There are certainly more profitable usesfor prime Manhattan real estate .   But maybe no building in New York City is more justifiably admired and beloved than the Main Branch of the New York Public Library which opened its doors for the first time on this date in 1911 at 5th Avenue and 42nd Street. It was recently named the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building in honor of the billionaire banker who pledged $100 million to restoration and repair of the structure.   It hardly put a dent in his personal fortune.   Schwarzman made headlines in 2012 when he compared...

Derek Parker, a friend and minister, responded to my request for what I might write for this blog. This is a list I drew up over lunch, in no particular order. What would you add? Training manuals and spreadsheets for volunteer treasurers Resources for accompanying hymn singing without a trained musician Self-directed spiritual development resources … Continue reading "10 resources for very small churches"

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 some of you may know, between last Christmas and the New Year, a recently arrived, homeless asylum seeker from Hong Kong knocked on the manse door to ask for help having seen a Cambridge City of Sanctuary sign on our noticeboard saying we welcome refugees and asylum seekers (see photo to the right). After paying for J. (not his real name)  to spend a week in the local youth hostel many of you, very kindly, then donated what has now amounted to nearly two thousand pounds to a fund to help me continue to help, in a very m...

We went for a hike in Henry W. Coe State Park today. There were still quite a few flowers in bloom, of which my favorite was the Butterfly Mariposa Lily: The terrain was the usual steep hillsides of the Coastal Ranges: The weather was ideal: 65-75 degrees, with a steady northerly breeze. We walked about … Continue reading "Field trip"

Please join us on Sunday (22 May 2022) at 11:00 AM for “You Say the Sun Isn’t Shining” 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 … Continue reading "All-Ages Worship (22 May 2022)"

Mark Your Calendar — the North Louisiana Interfaith Regional Assembly of Congregations and Citizen Organizations will be meeting on Tuesday (14 June 2022) from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM (Brown Chapel – Centenary College of Louisiana). Imagine if all our organizations worked together to build a way for ordinary people to take action to solve … Continue reading "North Louisiana Interfaith Regional Assembly of Congregations and Citizen Organizations (14 June 2022)"

Please join us on Sunday (22 May 2022) at 9:00 AM for our adult religious education class via Zoom. This Sunday we continue 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 — 22 May 2022"

On this Sunday (22 May 2022), children and youth religious education classes will continue to meet in person during our 11:00 AM worship service. We have resumed our pre-COVID practice where the children and youth will join us in the sanctuary for the first 15-20 minutes and then we will sing them out to their … Continue reading "Children and Youth Religious Education (22 May 2022)"

Please join us next Tuesday (24 May 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.

Please join us on Saturday (21 May 2022) from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM for our monthly building and grounds work day. Nearly all of the work maintaining our physical space is done by our members and friends who show up each month and do what needs to be done. There are tasks for all … Continue reading "Building and Grounds Work Day (21 May 2022)"

I was noodling around some British Unitarian websites and noticed the Unitarian Christian Association has worship at 6pm Sundays on Zoom … perfect as a Sunday morning service for much of North America, or at 1pm on the east coast. They invite you to show up a few minutes early and get settled in. Information … Continue reading "Unitarian Christian worship online"

Por más que lo intentaron, los demás animales no supieron usar el fuego como el rey, pero el hombre sí. Desde entonces el colibrí, la perdiz, y el pájaro bobo se convirtieron en guardianes de la humanidad por su regalo. Continue reading Columna: El Dueño del Fuego – Ingenio, curiosidad, y risa at The Wild Hunt.

"No matter how hard they tried, the other animals did not know how to use fire like the king, but man did. Since then the hummingbird, the partridge, and the booby bird have become guardians of humanity for their gift." Continue reading Column: The Owner of Fire at The Wild Hunt.

The love for self is philautia. It is the opposite of selfishness; rather, it is the love that teaches us to value our own worth and needs. As the song goes “learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all.” How have you learned to love yourself?

        Antoinette Louisa Brown was born, today, the 20th of May, 1825, in Henrietta, New York. She was the youngest of Abby & Jospeh Brown’s seven children. Her extraordinary intellectual capacity was noted by the time she turned three. She was also deeply religious, offering prayers and occasion children’s sermons in her […]

On May 17th, Side With Love hosted the National Network of Abortion Funds for a political education webinar for Unitarian Universalists and other people of faith and conscience to support abortion and take action in a post-Roe world. We’re especially grateful to Amanda Pretlow and Adaku Utah for their expertise, love, and invitational challenge at this event. View the webinar View the presentation We heard about the importance of strengthening our muscles to have deep, connective conversations with people in our communities about abortion (and other issues!). NNAF’s Heart-to-Heart framework is an incredible resource to use for both relational organizing (1:1 values-based conversations with people in our own networks) and community or...