In this week's Pagan Community Notes: Parliament of the World's Religion's Declaration for the Dignity and Human Rights of Women is re-circulating; due to overwhelming crowd sizes, Salem, MA is asking visitors to leave their cars at home and arrive by train, ferry, or broom; Mountain Rose Herbs announces winners for "Grants 4 Plants" program; burial site of a priestess of Aphrodite found in Russia; and more news Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of October 24, 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

      The 24th of October! I try to notice this day as it rolls around in our calendar. At least for a time, the Western church recalled the Archangel Raphael on this day, the 24th of October. In more recent years he’s been mushed together with Michael and Gabriel and the three together […]

On United Nations Day, we call on world leaders to take bold action to protect the common good.

The first time I heard the word “courage” was as a child watching the Wizard of Oz on TV. I understood the scarecrow’s desire for a brain, the tin man’s missing heart, but even by the end of the movie, … Continue reading →

  25,000 swarmed central Reykjavik for Womens' Day off in 1975, Ah, pluckyIceland, how we love you!   Although you missed the news if you relied on mainstream media, in 2015 Iceland sent 26 of its once powerful bankers to prison for their part in the schemes that led up to the 2008 economic crisis which nearly destroyed the economy.   No country fell harder than Iceland in the worldwide crisis.   But almost alone it did not react by scrambling to bail out the banks whose reckless conduct brought on the disaster.   Instead, the banks were allowedto fail, and new ones were created to serve the domestic economy.   Stockholders and foreign depositors attracted by the old banks’ debt-driven swashbuckling in world financial markets wer...

“Reading is an adventure. Adventures are about the unknown … Literature is a mix of unfamiliarity and recognition. The situation can take us anywhere — across time and space, the globe, through the lives of people who can never be like us — into the heart of anguish we have never felt — crimes we could not commit. Yet as we travel deeper into the strange world of the story, the feeling we get is of being understood — which is odd when you think about it, because at school learning is based on whether or not we understand what […] The post Literature Appeals to the “Better Angels of our Nature” appeared first on BeyondBelief.

“Spirit of Creation, remind me that there is a power in me and within all beings that is greater than anyone or anything. Remind me that I was made for this stuff and can be fully human, vulnerable and delicate and also fierce in the face of adversity. Remind me that I need not sacrifice … Continue reading Both

      INTERSPIRITUAL PRACTICE, ZEN, AND NONDUAL CHRISTIANITY: A Review James Ishmael Ford Embracing the Inconceivable: Interspiritual Practice of Zen and Christianity Ellen Birx Orbis Books, Maryknoll, 2020 I’ve now read Embracing the Inconceivable three times. The first read was fast, the old graduate school read out of a request from the publisher for […]

My new bike came in the mail and I put it together without much trouble. The hardest part was dragging the box in from the porch. It is working great so far and the old bike still hasn’t bit the dust. I dragged it away from the window and will wait for one of my […]

      INTERSPIRITUAL PRACTICE, ZEN, AND NONDUAL CHRISTIANITY: A Review James Ishmael Ford Embracing the Inconceivable: Interspiritual Practice of Zen and Christianity Ellen Birx Orbis Books, Maryknoll, 2020 I’ve now read Embracing the Inconceivable three times. The first read was fast, the old graduate school read out of a request from the publisher for […]

The World Wildlife Federation has released its annual Living Planet report, which notes a startling 69% decline in species populations since 1970. Continue reading Science Sunday: Major decline in populations amid frustrated approaches to climate change at The Wild Hunt.

as preached at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston, October 23, 2022 Listen more often to things than to beings,‘tis the Ancestor’s breathwhen the fire’s voice is heard,‘tis the Ancestor’s breathin the voice of the waters. The words come from the Senegalese poet Birago Diop. The music is from Ysaye Barnwell. She is the […]

Please join us on Saturday (29 October 2022) at 3:00 PM for a Samhain ritual with Ár nDraíocht Féin (a Druid Fellowship). The Thistle Grove of Ár nDraíocht Féin invites one and all to their ritual in celebration of Samhain (pronouned SAH-win) — an ancient Celtic festival of the dead that is the source of … Continue reading "Samhain Ritual with Ár nDraíocht Féin (A Druid Fellowship) — 29 October 2002"

Next weekend, we will have a bake sale sponsored by our middle and high school youth group.  The proceeds of this bake sale will go to Holy Cross Hope House: Saturday, 29 October 2022, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM (during Trunk or Treat Event) Sunday, 30 October 2022, after the 11:00 AM Worship Service Hope … Continue reading "Middle School / High School Bake Sale (29 and 30 October 2022)"

Continuing October's theme of "Courage," a guide to accomplishing one of humanity's most difficult tasks - asking for help.

Please join us for our annual Halloween Trunk-or-Treat event on Saturday (29 October 2022) from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Decorate your car – and yourself — bring some candy or something kid-friendly and fun to give away — and if you want, a game or craft for the children to do at your car. … Continue reading "Trunk-or-Treat (29 October 2022)"

Dad and I listened on the car radio when President Kennedy addressed the nation about the Cuban Missile Crisis and his eye ball to eyeball showdown with the Soviets. Note— 58 years ago this week the Cuban Missile Crisis riveted and terrified the American public, including a 13 year old in Cheyenne. This is my recycled memoir of that. I was in my father ’ s car.   I believe it was his official State of Wyoming 1962 Chevrolet station wagon.   We had the radio on.   Dad was doing me a favor.   He was a man of infinite patience that way.   We had just visited the Quonset hut that served as the official headquarters of Wyoming Civil Defense .   I had in my lap a box stuffed full of literature on how to build a bomb shelter, plan an ...

“We think of the prophets… who voiced unpopular opinions, who made personal sacrifices, and sometimes lost their lives, for the sake of justice.” -Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley and Clyde Grubbs Who are the prophets, living or dead, who have inspired you?

Yesterday and today I worked on two boxes and a table for articles in Popular Woodworking Magazine. I did the various set ups and operations, while editor Logan Wittmer took photos. It was challenging work for both of us.  All the work will be finished in my own shop. The boxes are fitted out with a tray and compartments to hold ink, fountain pens and accessories.   Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning lifewise. 

Please join us this Sunday at 11:00 AM for “TBA . . . as in ‘Yet to Be Revealed'” by Rev. Barbara Jarrell. What can we say?  It has yet to be revealed. We will be meeting in the sanctuary for this worship service.  Please join us in person at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, … Continue reading "All-Ages Worship (23 October 2022)"

For 23 October 2022, both classes will have a regular classroom session. PreK – 5th Grade will continue Toolbox of Faith this week discussing humor represented by sandpaper (because both can often help to smooth things over). Middle and High School will play a game of UU Jeopardy and also plan for their Bake Sale … Continue reading "Children and Youth Religious Education for 23 October 2022"

Please join us on Sunday (23 October 2022) as we resume our adult religious education class at 9:00 AM for “WhUU Dat” via Zoom and facilitated by Susan Caldwell and Barbara Deger. We are our exploring and discussing readings from the Unitarian Universalist Pocket Guide. This week’s reading includes the Foreward by Melissa Harris-Perry, the … Continue reading "Online Adult Religious Education — 23 October 2022"

Please join us next Tuesday (25 October 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.

William Miller's End of the World prophesy got a lot of ink around the world.  This was from an English illustrated newspaper. Baptist preacher William Miller developed a large following based on his interpretations of the prophecies in the Book of Daniel 8:14 “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”  Millerite congregations sprang up after Miller began to preach his doctrine of the Earth scourged by fire and the Second Advent of Christcome to save believers in 1831.  He calculated that Jesus Christ would return to earth and appear to the saved some time in 1843-44.  The movement spread over northern states which had previously been gripped the religious frenzy of the Second Great Awakenin...

Dos más dos es cuatro. Si yo no creía en Satanás, entonces Satanás no era real, y si llegaba a creer, entonces yo todavía ponía las reglas. Yo era Dios. Continue reading Columna: El Muchacho que Retó a Satanás at The Wild Hunt.

The tide coming in below Copperas Woods on the River Stour at Wrabness, Essex  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— Much thinking about the future of religion in the UK has been done using the metaphor of the withdrawing tide used as it was used in 1867 by the poet and cultural critic, Matthew Arnold (1822–1888), in his famous poem “Dover Beach”, lines 21–28 of which read:  The sea of faith Was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furl’d; But now I only hear Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar, Re...

As children, each of my siblings and I were given a small allowance. From it, we were expected to bring a quarter for the offering plate at church each week. I understood it as way to build a habit and expectation to give of myself during the worship service. No matter who was in attendance, … Continue reading Perfect Offering

Please join us on Saturday (22 October 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 (22 October 2022)"

Two plus two is four. If I didn’t believe in Satan, then Satan wasn't real, and if I believed, then I still made the rules. I was like a god. Continue reading Column: The Boy Who Challenged the Devil at The Wild Hunt.

as preached at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston, October 16, 2022 The Unitarian Universalist theologian Rebecca Parker has always been clear eyed about the purpose of our religious communion. In essay after essay, in book after book, writing alone or with a collaborator, she has told us that we gather in “hope for […]

        It was today, the 21st of October, 1969, that Jean Louis Kerouac, or maybe it was Jean-Louis Lebris de Kerouac, in any case, the person we know as Jack Kerouac died in St Petersburg, Florida. The day before Jack was drinking whiskey and malt liquor while working on a book. He […]

If we could see what was going on underneath the surface of each other’s lives, we would be stunned at how much courage we exercise each day. Action packed movies with their unstoppable heroines and heroes impress upon us that … Continue reading →

Everyone will begin in the Great Hall this Sunday and stay through the Story for All Ages, after which, children in grades K-6 are invited to join Rev. Lynn and Robin for Children’s Chapel fun across the street at Waters House. K-3 Wonderful Welcome: will meet ... read more . The post RE News appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Happy fall everyone! As Lisa reported in last week’s Circuits, two of the outcomes of the annual Board retreat work are the Annual Focus of Ministry (AFOM) and the Open Questions. This year’s AFOM is “to explore how our differences can strengthen our connections and commitment to one ... read more . The post Message from the Board President appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

After worship and RE classes, kids accompanied by an adult are invited to gather on the patio for pumpkin painting, Halloween stories, songs, and fun! Just bring yourselves, as everything will be provided. Costumes are welcome, too! The post Halloween Fun – October 30th at 12 noon appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Our Eureka Springs School of the Arts is hosting it's annual fall fun raising Mad Hatter's Ball tonight. Many fine works of art are being sold at auction to benefit the school. You can view and bid through this link, knowing what you spend will support good work.  https://one.bidpal.net/mhb2022/browse/all Among the items is a cabinet I made years ago that was donated by fellow founder Mary Springer. It was made of honey locust and oak in the 1990's. This morning I meet editor Logan Wittmer from Popular Woodworking Magazine to work on two articles. I'll make a box and a table while he takes photos for the articles. Make, fix and create... Assist others in living likewise.

  The most enduring image of the Pentagon march--young people putting flowers in the barrels of Army M-15 rifles.  Note — It is instructive to note the Johnson administration’s massive deployment in defense of the Pentagon during the 1967 anti-war March on the Pentagon and the feeble protection of the Capitol during the January 6, 2021 siege and attempted insurrection. There were other big marches in Washington in opposition to the Vietnam War.  Starting in 1965 they had practically become semi-annual events.  There would be more—and larger—ones later.  But the March to Confront the War Makers on October 21, 1967 was different.  It signaled a new phase in the anti-war movement that incorporated the rising youth counter   ...

Prayer for Democracy - Week of October 24, 2022 Lover of Justice, may we pause to pray a few words for democracy, the kind where people’s votes matter and all who are registered can vote freely without interference and with clear consciences. May we pray for democracy, where we can...

“Our salvation is intimately tied up in each other’s ability to see other people as worthwhile. All human beings as valuable, and possessing dignity. All life as having value and possessing dignity…. How do we create a context where all of that is possible? Where all that human driving and life is possible? That’s going … Continue reading Salvation

Click here for Ival Stratford Kovner's story "The Confused Clown" An aside:   Shekhinah: The Divine Feminine.  Each week on Shabbat the feminine aspects of Hashem are recounted. See  https://www.myjewishlearning.c om/article/the-divine-feminine -in-kabbalah-an-example-of- jewish-renewal/

I got my fifth COVID shot today, the so-called bivalent booster. Getting a COVID shot is boring now. But it didn’t used to be. We got our first shots the day after our age group was eligible. We had to drive an hour to find an appointment. There was an elaborate check-in process. After getting … Continue reading "Fifth shot"

Susan Dana Lawrence , Karin Lin , Nancy Palmer Jones The UU Common Read of Mistakes & Miracles is a four-session discussion series engaging congregations on the road to Beloved Community. Continue reading "Mistakes & Miracles: UU Common Read Discussion Guide"

Pagan mask making workshop utilized found and upcycled items for creating a mask for the upcoming holiday. Continue reading Mask making workshop draws on ancient traditions at The Wild Hunt.

PREFACE Come spirit come, our hearts control. Our spirits long to be made whole. Let inward love guide every deed. By this we worship and are freed. (Hymn, "Though I May Speak with Bravest Fire," 3rd verse)And our spirits do long to be made whole. Even when we understand that we are whole, the world leaves us often feeling that we aren’t. It’s the disconnect. We don’t feel connected with our neighbors. The fragmentation in the nation’s public political sphere produces a fragmentation in our psyches. We need to feel part of something we’re all in together. Then we are whole. Yet we have lost the sense that we’re all in this together. As we approach election day 2022, it’s been six years since the 2016 presidential election r...

It’s been a minute since I last wrote in earnest – between the pandemic and the ramping up of my successful entrepreneurial ministry, I’ve not had a lot of time to just write. Enter sabbatical. Beginning November 1, I’ll be on a four-month sabbatical. There will, of course, be time for rest and rejuvenation. I ... More →

                                        Lydia Maria Child as a young writer. Lydia Maria Child died in her Wayland, Massachusetts home at age on October 20, 1880.  Chances are you never heard of her.  But she may have been the first American woman to earn her living as a professional writer and became one of the country’s leading social reform advocates.  If you remember her at all, it is probably because she penned a classic holiday song still sung by school children. Child was born on February 11, 1802 in Medford, Massachusetts.  Her father Convers Francis was a businessman, banker, and a stern orthodox Calvinist.  The youngest of three children, she received a conventional education at a local dame schoo...

Sunday, October 23, 10:30 a.m. “Soul Matters” Monthly Spirit Circle This circle will be held once a month in lieu of our traditional worship service; please join us in our beautiful sanctuary the rest of the month for our regularly-scheduled worship services! 10:30am – Noon Unitarian Church of Marlborough & Hudson 80 Main St., Hudson, MA      [ … ] The post Sunday, October 23 ~ Soul Matters Spirit Circle ~ 10:30 a.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

I love going to the movies. When I was a child and I assure you I used to be one many moons ago, movies were rare. I only remember going to the movies around 7 times in my childhood. Yes, … Continue reading →

“Inspired by the beauty and holiness of the Earth, we become more willing to relinquish material desires. We recognize the need for sacrifice as we build a world that is both just and sustainable. We are called to be good stewards, restoring the Earth and protecting all beings.” -UUA Commission on Appraisal, on the 7th … Continue reading Sustainability

This post is a companion piece to a post I wrote in February 2015, “A Conversation Begins with a Lie…” Like a lot of moments in my life, I recently realized something important while listening to the Indigo Girls.   Carri … Continue reading →

Yesterday I visited with woodworking and trades students at North Arkansas Community College and did a book talk and signing in their library. The students were very attentive. Today I taught our Clear Spring School kids how to make flip cars, a tradition at the Clear Spring School. The kids were very excited, and recognizing my age asked if it is OK to call me "Grandpa." I think, being the age that I am, it's OK. The photo is a silly one. Make, fix, and create. Assist others in learning likewise.

How the consumption and production of chocolate impacts the environment in a variety of ways, and the possible changes that could make it more sustainable. Continue reading Honoring Quetzalcoatl’s gift: chocolate and it’s impacts at The Wild Hunt.

Jeff Milchen UU the Vote organized in-person events in two states where voting and human rights are most threatened: Michigan and Georgia.

RSVP to the Auction and Trunk or Treat here.

A memorandum of understanding building on the historic partnership between EqUUal Access and the UUA ensures more resources and staff to address ableism within Unitarian Universalism and to support equity in the engagement of disabled people in society as a whole. Continue reading "Unitarian Universalists Commit to Addressing Ableism: Memorandum of Understanding Between UUA and EqUUal Access Continues Efforts to Promote Disability Justice"

Laura Shay Witnessing the lifecycle of a monarch butterfly has made me a better chaplain. Continue reading "Part of the Mystery"

  John Turnbull's famous 1820 painting of the surrender at Yorktown.  General Benjamin Lincoln accepted the sword from Brigadier Charles O'Hara as Washington looked on.  The French army was on the left and the Continental Army on the right.  The band played  The World Turned Upside Down. The English musicianshad it right when they played The World Turned Upside Down on October 19, 1781.   On that day British forces commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis marched out of their fortifications at Yorktown , Virginia between ranks of Continental Army and French troops. Cornwallis, feigning illness, dispatched Irish born Brigadier General Charles O’Hara to do the distasteful duty.   O’Hara attempted to offer the sword of sur...

Courageous people almost never feel that they are courageous. It’s one of the oddities of human experience. We can all probably identify people in our lives whom we consider to be courageous. We know what they have been up against. … Continue reading →

In the context of a theologically diverse audience, and with the coming harvest weighing heavily on my mind, I offered this prayer as part of last Sunday’s service at Denton UU.

As a child, I loved learning how to keep score at baseball games, and my father loved explaining the intricacies of baseball scoring. One of my favorite things to score was the “sacrifice fly,” in which a batter hits a long fly ball knowing that it would be caught, but allowing the runner on third … Continue reading Sacrifice Fly

  A Story             Long ago and far away, there was a girl named Vasilisa.   Sometimes she was called Vasilisa the wise.   She was never called Vasilisa the sad, even though her mother died when she was just eight years old.   Of course, she was sad about her mother’s passing.   But she had fond memories of her, too.             Before she died, her mother called her daughter to her bedside and place a doll in Vasilisa’s hands.   It was one she had carved especially for her.   Vasilisa’s mother said, “Take good care of this little doll and she will take good care of you.”             Vasilisa put the little doll in her pocket.   On the day her mother died, despite her tears she rememb...

I went to the September meeting of the Miami-Dade County School Board along with two of our members, Martha Harrison and Cam McFrederick.    We were concerned about the school board voting down a resolution to: “Recognize and observe October 2022 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) History Month and direct the Superintendent to support policies and practices…that respect and support LGBTQ students and their families throughout the school year.”   In case you didn’t know, this history month did not require anyone in the public schools to participate, did not have any curricula associated with it, and would not have been discussed in the classroom.   The resolution would have simply given the LGBTQ student...

          “There is no such thing as a heartbeat at six weeks,” said Stacey Abrams, who is running a campaign centered on abortion access to unseat Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R). “It is a manufactured sound designed to convince people that men have the right to take control of a woman’s body away from her.” According to obstetrics and gynecology experts, Abrams is correct in saying there is no heartbeat at six weeks. At that stage of the embryo’s development, the chambers and valves of the heart ― the opening and closing of which create the heartbeat sound ― don’t exist yet.   Abrams was arguing against the use of “fetal heartbeat” rhetoric in anti-abortion legislation. The term is used to contest abortion r...

 Story An old woman is nearing the end of her life. As she closes her eyes one night, she sees a bright light and is transported to another realm. She doesn’t pass away just then, instead, she returns to the living world to find her family gathered at her bedside. She smiles and whispers to her children, “I have seen the great hereafter.” “The great whereafter?” Her son asks. “Heaven and hell. I have seen them both.”   The old woman goes on to explain, “I came upon a door, and behind it was hell. What I saw there confounded me. There was a dining hall filled with rows of tables, each table bearing a magnificent stew. It looked and smelled delicious, yet the people seated around the tables were emaciated and sickly, moan...

                   Generally, I am okay being alone.   I have become more aware in the 20 years I’ve been since a Unitarian Universalist minister, that I need time with people and time without people. I am not a fan of multitasking, and yet ministry often is multitasking: preaching, pastoring, teaching, studying, learning, sometimes all at once.   And so alone time is needed to sort through it all, to be quiet, to reflect, to write, to read, to try to understand all that is taking place around and within me.   But there are times, whether I’m with people or taking some alone time, when I feel lonely. Have you felt lonely?    I am going to assume the answer is yes for all of us gathered here.   Perhaps it was whe...

By Helene Atwan | Gayl Jones, the highly acclaimed author who was first “discovered" and mentored by Toni Morrison has twice disappeared from our sight. The first time was after a stellar launch as one of America’s most daring and distinctive literary lights, after two brilliant novels (“Corregidora” and “Eva’s Man”) brought out by Morrison at Random House, and one slim but oh-so-astonishing story collection (“White Rat”), when she went into a self-imposed exile in France, from the late 1970s until the late 1990s. She and her husband had rejected the racism that surrounded them, and Gayl had made the decision to leave her job in academia and her very promising career as a writer, as well as her friends and supporters in...

The Frederick Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (FCUUPS) gears up for its annual Samhain ritual on Saturday. Continue reading A Samhain journey in Western Maryland at The Wild Hunt.

        When I was planning my stopover in Bangkok on a trip to Bhutan I wanted to visit the Mahayana Buddhist monastery where the English Buddhist John Blofeld’s ashes were interred. My friend the scholar Justin Whitaker connected me to Will Yaryan. Will was a mostly retired professor of religious studies keeping […]

Last year activists lobbied the Illinois General Assembly to end money bail requirements that penalize poverty. Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation , 5603 Bull Valley Road in McHenry, will host an on-line forum to discuss the truth about the Pretrial Fairness provisions of the SAFE-T Act this Saturday, October 22 at 5pm on Zoom.   “Much misinformation and fear mongering has been spread,” according to Tree of Life Social Justice Chair Patrick Murfin.  “We want to let our community this important criminal justice reform.” Tree of Life is partnering with the UU Prison Ministry of Illinois (UUPMI) and their allies at Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice ( INPJ ) who argue that pre-trial detention for the inability to ...

I tell people that my daughter, Jalila, is my angel on earth. She took care of me while I was battling breast cancer. She became my rock. She was the first one I told that I had breast cancer. She … Continue reading →

“Spirit of life and love; spirit of holding on; spirit of letting go: help us to attune to what our lives whisper to us—both the sweet words of commitment and the sweet words of release. Help us to know whether it’s a time to hold tightly, or a time to let go. Help us to … Continue reading Letting Go

Rodney Kennedy, in an opinion piece on Baptist News Global, says: “I’m attempting to wrap my mind around the idea of a former Army general telling me I should preach from the U.S. Constitution. I mention this only because Michael Flynn has been occupying American pulpits, recommending the Constitution as a second holy book for … Continue reading "Yet another holy book"

TWH – October is in full swing and so is the annual deluge of stories in the news about Witches and occult practices. The closer the wheel turns to Samhain, the Days of the Dead, and secular Halloween celebrations, the flow of stories and articles will likely increase. The current popularity of magical practices continues to permeate the mainstream pop culture of movies and series on television and streaming services. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of October 17, 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

On the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, we renew our call for urgent action to combat extreme deprivation and inequality around the globe.

A few autumn views of Logan’s Meadow nature reserve and the Cambridge Museum of Technology Taken with a Fujifilm X100V Just click on the photo to enlarge it Straight out of camera using the  C201   and Acros Dark  recipe by Marcel Fraij

      I first heard of John the Dwarf when reading Thomas Merton’s Wisdom of the Desert Fathers. This book was enormously important to me, and remains so. Merton’s selection and his translation of the texts emphasize the echoes of a spirituality akin to the early Chan masters of China. Later I would read […]

In reel life and in real life--women were the heroes of the mid-20th Century Southwestern mine strike made famous in the film  Salt of the Earth . When workers went on strike against the Empire Zinc Corporation in Grant County , New Mexico on October 17, 1950 it may have seemed like just another action in almost 60 years of struggle by hard rock minersand allied workers in the West.   But the bitter strike, which dragged on for 14 more months took place against a backdrop of anti-communist hysteria, government suppression, racism, and gender discrimination would likely be forgotten today except that it was documented in a classic film that had its own epic battle to see the light of day. Almost everyone called the strikers Mexicans and...

I have read or listened to several books by Margaret Atwood about futuristics societies where the decisions for many are made by a very few. Opinions are not allowed and those who are brave enough to have a thought and … Continue reading →

In the Torah reading known as the Akedah, G-d calls on Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac upon an altar. This story is troublesome for many Unitarian Universalists, because of our uneasy relationship with the concept of sacrifice as a demonstration of devotion to a higher power, which is often how the story is … Continue reading Drawing Nearer to the Divine

New report confirms UUSC research on in-country refugee processing program.

Archeologists have uncovered the foundations of a temple to Poseidon attested to in Strabo's Geography. Continue reading Archeologists may have found legendary temple to Poseidon at The Wild Hunt.

I think I broke my bike. It has been making weird clunking sounds that get louder every time I use it. Today I heard something fall inside below the pedals. No worries, I ordered another bike from Costco which should be here within the week. This one still works, but given how loud it is […]

2021 marked the 500th anniversary of the Conquest of Mexico and the fall of the Aztec Empire. Its capital, Tenochtitlan, was a spectacular city, a jewel in the center of Mexico that Hernán Cortés claimed to have conquered easily. Since those who win wars usually write history, it has taken centuries to unearth the truth about that conquest, and to reveal the complex array of human ambitions, greed, and sacrifice on both sides. Join us on Sunday, October 16, for a glimpse into the past and a greater understanding of the human desire for wealth and power, and the bravery of those who resist it. Sherry Hardage was a long time member of the Unitarian Church of Los Alamos. Over two decades she gave numerous sermons and Forum presentations. ...

        I was a High School dropout. When I worked at Wahrenbrock’s Bookstore in San Diego, I spent several years taking classes at San Diego’s Evening College. While I was really only following my nose and taking what seemed interesting, somehow it mapped pretty nicely the lower division courses for an English […]

For the last 15 months I had to pleasure to serve as one of your ministers in an intern and resident capacity. The Board of Trustees, All Souls Ministry Team, and I had hoped we might receive special permission from the UUA to continue my tenure here beyond what current nationwide denominational policy guidelines allow. This exception, sadly, was not granted. The post Cory Lovell: A fond farewell appeared first on BeyondBelief.

Voltaire said “common sense is not so common.” But another problem with common sense is taking something that’s generally true and assuming it’s universally true – and then using that to force people into boxes where they don’t fit.

  By an astonishing coincidence a professional photographer just happened to be on hand when the Giant was raised from the ground in Cardiff, New York. Americans have always loved and fallen for hoaxes , fakes , and frauds.   They are an enduring part of our culture and folklore.   It was all pretty harmless until one ran for President and went off the rails.   Take the inventions of Parson Weems in his alleged biography of George Washington that gave us the cherry tree story, tossing the dollar across the Potomac, and the vision at Valley Forge—all entirely fictitious but amazingly still taught in American elementary schools. There were literary hoaxes as crude as Davey Crocket ’ s boasting or as bold as Edgar Allan Poe ’ s Ba...

Sometimes I find myself feeling confused and burdened by the word sacrifice, especially when it comes to family. The lines between enabling my children and setting loving boundaries are blurry. -Beth Murray (CLF) When have you sacrificed or compromised your own personal needs to do something that might be helpful for another family member? When … Continue reading Resentment

Please join us this Sunday at 11:00 AM for “Sharing Our Experience of This Religious Movement” with Gale Gucker, Steve Caldwell, and Bennett Upton. Join us to hear two former congregational board presidents and a trainer of teachers in the UUA/UCC Our Whole Lives Comprehensive Sexuality Education Curriculum speak on their experience with Unitarian Universalism … Continue reading "All-Ages Worship (16 October 2022)"

There will be no adult religious education class this Sunday (16 October 2022). We will return at 9:00 AM on Sunday, 23 October 2022 continuing our WhUU Dat? series by exploring and discussing readings from the Unitarian Universalist Pocket Guide.

For 16 October 2022, both classes will have a regular classroom session. The Pre K – 5th Grade Class will continue Toolbox of Faith discussing power, represented by the hammer, which can be used to build or to destroy. The Middle and High School Class will play a game of UU Jeopardy and also plan … Continue reading "Children and Youth Religious Education for 16 October 2022"

Please join us next Tuesday (18 October 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 (15 October 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 (15 October 2022)"

This might seem like a no-brainer, but the simple art of having a schedule can make the difference between a Witch-Craft and merely a Witch-Interest. Continue reading Column: Bite-Sized Witchcraft at The Wild Hunt.

      As I understand it within the Japanese tradition today, the 15th of October, is marked as the day in the year 606, when Jianzhi Sengcan returned to that mystery from which all of us come and, as with that ancient venerable, to which all of us return. In our Zen traditions Sengcan […]