Yesterday I finished a 3 day class with North Arkansas Community College, and lots of beautiful boxes were made. Each student went home with 3, all made with Arkansas hardwoods. Lots of learning took place.  Make, fix and create.

I believe happy people have integrated themselves into many different positive communities.  It’s human nature to want and need to belong to a group of others.  Where we are employed, our hobbies and interests and especially our struggles.  I’ve found great reprieve from my personal struggles through connecting with others who fight the same battles. … Continue reading Struggling Together

I love to move the furniture around in my house. Seriously, it’s a thing. I suddenly become bored with whatever arrangement I have and decide, no, actually that chair doesn’t look good there. Shouldn’t we buy a bookcase maybe? What … Continue reading →

    It was on this day, the 14th of November in 1890 that the remarkable and almost too amazing to be believed, but carefully documented so so very much real Nellie Bly embarked on her famous trip around the world. Her journey was measured against the fictional Phileas Fog’s trip around the world in […]

It seems like a good day to resurrect a poem that appeared in a slightly different form in my 2004 collection We Build Temples in the Heart published by Beacon Press, Boston. The poem came to me early one morning on my daily walk from the Metra train stationin Cary, Illinois to Briargate Elementary School where I was the Head Custodian.  After I opened the building and classroomsand hoisted the Flag outside, I grabbed a cup of bad coffee in the Teachers’ Lounge and set down to scribblea first draft.   Mid-November Dawn   The time has come,             I know, I know.   The soft frosts that fade             at the first blush of light             are over.             The grass snaps now

As we went around Oshkosh this afternoon, I stopped to photograph six buildings that house religious communities. It was strange to see how deserted most of these buildings looked on Sunday afternoon. The Christian churches presumably had a lot of activity this morning, but by afternoon the building were dark, the parking lots empty. Even … Continue reading "Buildings of religious communities in Oshkosh"

Does "Paganism" take a capital letter? It's a more important question than it might seem at first, an artifact of the ongoing rivalry between Christianity and Pagan religions, argues TWH's editor-in-chief, Manny Tejeda-Moreno, who argues the case for the capital P. Continue reading Editorial: a Capital problem resurfaces on Wikipedia at The Wild Hunt.

as preached at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston, November 13, 2022 This past summer, I had the opportunity to hear the Commoners Choir in concert. The show was part of their Hope & Anger tour. They are a British folk choir that sings all original compositions. Our choir sang one of their pieces, […]

Change happens. Sometimes we made it happen, and sometimes it happens to us without warning. How do we prepare ourselves for the unexpected? How do we respond to the changes that come without our bidding?

      The Five Ranks of Dongshan Liangjie Comments by Thomas Cleary Five Ranks, Three Roads, Three Falls, Three Leaks, Four Types of Different Kinds The Five Ranks The five ranks may be viewed as a progression of stages of development or an analysis of different degrees of integration. In the first, called the relative […]

I have said more than once, that if you want to know where you are going, it helps to know where you have been. Of course we never know what is ahead of us. Trails can erode or a fallen tree can block our path. But still, checking that compass and looking back can keep […]

I'm ready for day three of box making with seven students from North Arkansas Community College with the class being held at our Eureka Springs School of the Arts. Students have 3 boxes in the works to be completed today. Student ages range from twenty up to as old as I am. make, fix and create. Assist others in learning likewise.

This interesting article from the New York Times describes how our participation in social media (and computer gaming also), are distorting us one quick tweet at a time. The principle is called operant conditioning and it's distorting and poisoning everything from politics to our relationships with each other. This weekend I'm teaching a class on box making for students from North Arkansas Community College. The class is being held at ESSA and is part of our on-going effort to expand the reach of what our school offers to the community at large. Last week we had faculty and administration from the college attending for lessons in art welding. A simple remedy for the poison that's destroying us is to join together in doing real things. ma...

Community can be the network of relationships that calls us to work for collective liberation. When we are bound in community, we find liberation together–for all of us or for none. How have you experienced working for collective liberation in community? La comunidad puede ser la red de relaciones que nos llama a trabajar por … Continue reading Liberation

Here’s a lighthearted look some of the things people believe in – or not – and how strongly I do or don’t believe in them.

This 2014 mural by Richard K. Yazzir commemorates the Cherokee Trail of Tears and the Long Walk Home  some members of the nation made from their new settlement land in Indian Territory (today's Oklahoma) back to their homelands in the Carolinas, and Georgia.  In Illinois and Wisconsin members of the Sauk and Fox tried tried to return to their hunting grounds from reservations in Iowa but were defeated and expelled again after the Black Hawk War . November is Native American Heritage Month in the United States.   The designation was inspired by the false narrative of the First Thanksgiving myth and in recognition of the true history of the genocidal displacement of aboriginal peoples and nations by the European settler invasion and con...

Please join us this Sunday (13 November 2022) at 11:00 AM for “Delighted Without Hope” by Rev. Barbara Jarrell. We will be meeting in the sanctuary for this worship service.  Please join us in person at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 9449 Ellerbe Road, Shreveport LA  71106 if you are able to do so. Our service … Continue reading "All-Ages Worship (13 November 2022)"

At a time when so much is in question, including the holiday itself, it would be tempting either to pass it by completely, or to continue to celebrate without confronting difficult truths. Neither path is a solution. Instead, we do pause to give thanks for all we have in this life, including our right to … Continue reading "Thanksgiving Service, Ritual of Gratitude, and Potluck Feast (20 November 2022)"

This Sunday (13 November 2022) — “Understanding the Bible” Adapted for this age group from a curriculum based on the book by John Buehrens (Understanding the Bible: An Introduction for Skeptics, Seekers, and Religious Liberals). This week — Session 1 — “Why Bother with The Bible?” The group will explore the reasons we study the … Continue reading "Middle and High School Youth Religious Education"

This Sunday (13 November 2022) — “Noah and the Ark” Children and youth are with us in the sanctuary for the first 20 minutes and then are dismissed to their classes. The elementary class (Pre-K through Grade 5) begins their season of focus on our Jewish and Christian heritage looking at the story of Noah and … Continue reading "Children’s Religious Education (13 November 2022)"

Please join us on Sunday (13 November 2022) as we continue our adult religious education class at 9:00 AM for “WhUU Dat” via Zoom and facilitated by Susan Caldwell and Barbara Deger continuing our discussion of the Unitarian Universalist Pocket Guide. This week’s readings include the sections entitled, “Our Worship,” and “Our Religious Education.”

Please join us next Tuesday (15 November 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.

When one can visit the Temple of Athena, one must visit the Temple of Athena. Continue reading Pilgrimages: A Visit to the Parthenon (in the Athens of the South) at The Wild Hunt.

By James Baldwin | I first saw “The Exorcist,” in Hollywood, with a black friend of mine, who had his own, somewhat complex reasons for insisting that I see it: just so, one of my brothers had one day walked me into the film “The Devils,” which he had already seen, saying, cheerfully, as we walked out, “Ain’t that some shit? I just wanted you to see how sick these people are!” Both my friend and my brother had a point. I had already read “The Devils”; now, I forced myself to read “The Exorcist”—a difficult matter, since it is not written; then, I saw the film again, alone. I tried to be absolutely open to it, suspending judgment as totally as I could.

You may have heard of the meltdown at Twitter, and also may have heard of one option Twitter users have been going: Mastodon.  I don’t have a lot of love for Twitter, but until this week I didn’t see a lot of alternatives. The influx of people to Mastodon led me to dust off my … Continue reading "I’m on Mastodon"

In the May, 2022, issue of “St. Anthony Messenger,” a publication of Franciscan Media (Roman Catholic), there was an article by Mark P. Shea titled “I’d Like To Say: Stop Weaponizing the Eucharist.” For those of us who take a pro-choice position, this article contains some observations that we could perhaps agree with. Like this: … Continue reading "Finding common ground"

Early in November 1970, a 45-foot long, 8 ton sperm whale beached itself near Florenceon the central Oregon Coast.  This turned out to be fatal for the unfortunate whale which, which, based on its size—about half the length of a full grown bull, was likely an adolescent female. Sperm whales were still being actively hunted by several countries, most notably the Japanese, Soviets, and Norwegians though their numbers had been reduced to the point where the species was threatened.  Although the United Stateswas out of the business, its fleets of whalershad roamed the globe from New England ports from the late 18th Century to the early mid-20th Century and had taken the biggest toll on the population of the world’s largest toothed pred...

Community is our natural state, the reality opposed to the illusion of capitalist individualism, and what keeps people alive during disasters and emergencies. As an atheist, it’s the higher power beyond myself; as a Black person, it’s my culture and way of life. -Cir L’Bert, Jr. (CLF) How do you experience the higher power of … Continue reading Reality

    On Social media there’s a meme that’s going around, at least in my small corner of that world. I’ve seen a couple of versions. One is part of a larger poem by Damien Barr: I heard that we are in the same boat.But it’s not that.We are in the same storm, but not […]

Religion News Service (RNS) reports on some preliminary conclusions from the the 2020 U.S. Religion Census. This decennial census has been carried out since the 1950s, by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. As expected, the number of “adherents” (persons affiliated with a local congregation) has declined since the last such census. But … Continue reading "2020 U.S. Religion Census nears completion"

This is why I tend my altars so often: things change. I have a tendency to forget things that I do not put my hands on occasionally. Continue reading Column: Tending the Altar at The Wild Hunt.

Admiral Sir Rosslyn Wemyss, First Sea Lord, and Marshal Ferdinand Foch (standing), the French leader of the Allied forces,  accept the German surrender ending fighting in the Great War. Note:   A return of a semi-regular post.   But it will be new and news to some of you. 11/11/11 .  That’s how Americans remembered the Armistice that went into effect on November11 , 1918 at 11 a.m. local time in France ending hostilitieson the Western Front in what was up to that time the most catastrophicallybloody war in history.  The German High Command signed the armistice just two days after revolutionaries in Berlin overthrew Kaiser Wilhelmand proclaimed a Republic. The shooting part of the Great War was over.  It would not officially end u...

Prayer for the Weary - Week of November 14, 2022 Lover of the Broken-hearted, the Weary, and the Down-trodden, give us space to breathe today, to breathe with peace and freedom from terror and fear, to breathe with wonderment and freedom from others’ rage, to breathe with gratitude and freedom...

In her book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, Marie Kondo writes, “People cannot change their habits without first changing their way of thinking.” (pg. 15) Good heavens Marie, that sounds like work, … Continue reading →

Perhaps you are somewhere where today is celebrated as Armistice Day, honoring the end of World War 1. Perhaps you are honoring veterans of the armed services today. Wherever you are, take some time to pray for peace around our world. Pray for peace today. Quizás estés en algún lugar donde hoy se esté celebrando … Continue reading Peace

      Today the 11th of November is the feast for Mercurius, soldier and martyr in the Coptic Church. He is similarly honored in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church on the 25th of this month. In the official story he was martyred at the order of the pagan emperor Decius. […]

The Not-Too-Early-For-a-Holiday-Market Park-It Market 12 November  2022 — 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM Click here for more details.  

Please join us on Saturday (12 November 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 November 2022)"

A case before the Glasgow Scottish High Court revises the satanic panic of the 90s, and has drawn claims of reputational harm from the Scottish Pagan Federation. Continue reading Scottish Pagans “threatened” in recent court case at The Wild Hunt.

It wasn't just right wing outlets like Fox Business that was stunned--the whole conventional wisdom of the election was turned on it head by the actual results. Democrats are stunned but elated to find themselves still standing.  MAGA zealots and a certain orange specter are reeling.  Media pundits and talking heads can’t figure out how the hell they got things so wrong.  Despite dismal personal approval ratingsand high anxiety over the economy and inflation, President Joe Biden dodged the traditional mid-term Congressional shellacking.  Unconventional candidate John Fetterman had to overcome a stroke that sidelined his campaign for months but still overtook TV charlatan and and carpet bagger from New Jersey to take a Senate seat ...

UUSC is the first donor to support the Kioa Island Community Organization (KICO). Since partnering with UUSC, KICO has continued building upon its existing work on the Pacific island of Kioa and throughout the region.

When we launched UPLIFT Action, it was a sacred declaration that our bodies are worthy of protection and love.  We reminded ourselves that the movements for LGBTQ+ Justice, Gender Justice, and Reproductive Justice are all rooted in a deep reverence for every person’s right and access to bodily autonomy.  We celebrated that our communities are so much stronger and more joyous when we resist together, create for and with each other, and refuse to let anyone convince us that only one of us can win at a time.   Tuesday night, we experienced the complex mix of joy, relief, and anguish that comes from faithfully upholding the truth that our liberation is necessarily collective.  Our bodies - our worth -  were on the ballot in several w...

    HISTORIES OF THE ZEN MISSION TO THE AMERICAS AND THE WEST What follows is a review of Richard McDaniel’s Zen Conversations. However it is much more than that. It’s a review of the histories of Zen’s mission to the West, focused on North America. I read it and found it an invaluable resource. […]

From November 6-18, seven UUSC partners will attend the 27th annual Conference of Parties (COP) in Egypt to discuss approaches to mitigating and responding to climate change.

Yesterday with my Kindergarten students (our Rainbow Group) we began making Froebel block sets. Lots of sawing was involved. I started with a lesson on the use of a square to mark straight lines across wood, and as is usual, getting the kids to understand that the body of the square has to be tight to the wood in order for the blade of the wood to be square and the line being drawn to be "square," was a challenge. Fortunately the project will be forgiving, of both poorly marked lines and off-square cuts. Each time a student would finish a cut they would proclaim, "I did it!" or they would tell the number, like, "I've cut five!" Mastery of the saw requires mastery of your own body... Developing a smooth arm motion as well as developing a ...

Your feelings are windows to your soul.  They are valuable teachers with lessons if we acknowledge and make friends with them.   They make themselves known so that we may know ourselves  and pay attention to parts of ourselves that need to be … Continue reading →

Over the past few years I have found myself living in remote places and moving around quite a bit. Community is hard to find when living on the road or living rurally. I have been able to feel connected, loved, and held by keeping in touch with friends and family through technology, and I feel … Continue reading On the Road

  Photo by Bannon Morrissy on Unsplash Sunday, November 13,  10:30 a.m. When Life Gives You Lemons (and You Don’t Want Lemonade) With Rev. Alice Anacheka-Nasemann A John Gorka lyric states, “Life is full of disappointment, yes and I am full of life.” Join us this Sunday, November 13, as Rev. Alice shares about her summer sabbatical   [ … ] The post Sunday, November 13 ~ When Life Gives You Lemons . . . appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

In order to achieve climate justice, we need significant policy shifts supported by powerful grassroots organizing. We must pressure governments for meaningful climate action, while advancing climate solutions in our communities to ensure that all people can thrive.  We also need time to regroup, unlearn, and learn anew.  With all of this in mind, we invite you to engage in one or all of the exciting climate justice opportunities this month.  You could start by joining the final workshop in our Climate Resilience through Disaster Response and Community Care series on Tuesday, November 15 at 7 ET, or zoom in to get the latest updates on COP 27 Activities with the UUMFE Daily Discussions on COP27 with Doris Marlin and Dr. Bill McPherson...

Thank you so much for signing up for the “Mobilizing for Action,” the second workshop in our series on “Climate Resilience through Disaster Response & Community Care”.  Whether you were able to attend in real-time or plan to watch the recording later, we are grateful for your commitment to building communities of care in the face of climate disasters.    Next steps:   Make sure you RSVP for the third and final workshop in this series: Community Conversations on November 15.  We encourage you to invite 1 or 2 more people from your congregation to attend, so we can continue to grow our community of support! Check out the  Climate Disaster Response for UUs Guide .  This guide is chock full of tools and resources to help ind...

UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray reflects on the ways that organizing around elections is grounded in Unitarian Universalist theology. Continue reading "Unitarian Universalists Remain Committed to Democracy"

TWH spoke with Denny Sargent about the animistic practice of "Werewolf Magic." Continue reading Werewolf Magic, a new Pagan tradition at The Wild Hunt.

Erika A. Hewitt Of all the things "faith" can mean, to me it means believing in us. Continue reading "Our Struggle and Our Power"

On this day after the Election, I want to invite us to reflect on the state of our democracy. Democracy, after all, is a valuable method for governance, but it’s not a guarantee of good outcomes (Gershberg and Illing, Paradox of Democracy, 2). In a democracy, the people are free to choose, and sometimes their […]

I read Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American daily to put current events into a historic context. There are always changes afoot, but not all things under the sun are new. Human nature changes at a geologic pace. Today in her post she noted the large number of young persons mobilized to vote. "If there is an obvious story from today with results still unknown, it is this: a new generation is picking up the torch of our democracy." It's a very good thing. One in which I find consolation. You can find her initial comments on the election here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/november-8-2022 Make, fix and create. Assist others in learning likewise.

My daughter is going to start going to Gwinnett Tech in January. It’s a three year program for sonography. I’m so happy that she is going to be starting a new chapter in her life.  She will meet new people. … Continue reading →

“Without community, there is no liberation…but community must not mean a shedding of our differences, nor the pathetic pretense that these differences do not exist.” -Audre Lorde How have you honored differences to create authentic community? “Sin comunidad no hay liberación… pero comunidad no debe significar un desprendimiento de nuestras diferencias, ni la patética pretensión … Continue reading Differences

                  Do you make time to listen for that still small voice inside you?  The voice that invites you to be make a change, to strive a little more; the voice that urges you to more authenticity, that invites you into transformation?  I believe we all have such inner stirrings—that give voice to the seeds of change wanting to burst forth and grow in and through us.  I asked you during the meditation to draw or write about that inner voice, considering when you hear it, how you hear it, how you respond to it.  Is it a voice that calls you to an evolution, to a revolution of the way you live and move and have your being on this earth?  Does it ask you to say “yes” to life, to truth, to love?  What’s yo...

An extraordinary find of 24 bronzes in the Italian town of San Casciano dei Bagni, Tuscany, promises to rewrite history. Continue reading “Exceptional” discovery of ancient bronzes in Italy at The Wild Hunt.

I’ve been looking for a better social media outlet for a while now. I stopped using Twitter years ago because it got too nasty. I’ve stayed on Facebook mostly because I have a lot of friends from Sacred Harp singing there — but Facebook is mostly an ugly place, and I don’t like the way … Continue reading "Mastodon"

My sister Mary's first father-in-law had retired from working for Fruehauf, and though I'd only met Mr. Lange a couple times, it was obvious that he had been proud of his work. And why not? You could not drive the interstate highways in the US without following a few. Fruehauf moved its manufacturing overseas, closing the Omaha production facility which was then taken over by another company, so the tradition of building trailers for the trucking industry continues, and later Fruehauf returned to manufacturing in the US. But that's a long story. And not one that diminishes the pride my sister's father-in-law felt about his work. Can you get it? The labors of hand and the labors of mind are essential to each other, and whichever ways we t...

I woke at 3 a.m. and saw the bright full moon through my window. I woke again at 5:30 a.m., but could not see the eclipsed red moon because it was hiding low in the sky behind the many trees and buildings around our house. Still, I dreamt about the lunar eclipse all through the […]

This symbol of the Civil Works Administration seven month pilot program was placed on, many of the brick and mortar public works projects built. On November 8, 1933 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt announced plans to create the new Civil Works Administration which, he said, would provide up to 4 million jobs for the unemployed while doing important work building roads, bridges, sewer lines, and other infrastructure.  In a 5 month run over the winter of 1933-34 over a billion dollars was spent putting people to work. The basic idea was improved and expandedupon as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded by Congress in the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935.  The WPA was on its way to becoming the single biggest progra...

 

Election day is an important day in the life of a democracy. For the last few weeks in most US states, people have been engaging in early voting, showing up at polls and casting their ballots. Journalists, pollsters, and politicos … Continue reading →

On this day around the world, our Sikh siblings are celebrating the birth of the first Sikh Guru. It is a day of rituals and learning, and of celebrating the teachings of Sikhism. May spend the day engaged in selfless service to others, known as seva, one of the most important practices of their faith. … Continue reading Guru Nanak Jayanti

I have an article in this month's Quercus Magazine from the UK and I received a copy in today's mail. The article is about students from Clear Spring School having built a survival structure from bamboo and discusses the group work that takes place under such circumstances. Subscribers should receive copies this week. Make, fix and create. Assist others in learning likewise.

In this week's Pagan Community Notes: Wiccan church denied building permit, The Witches awards have been announced, Remembering Alder MoonOak, and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of November 7, 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

Jeff Milchen The Legacy Fellowship program builds leadership capacity to advance democracy in 2020 and beyond.

The United Nations’ annual climate change conference begins this week, and several UUSC partners are making the long journey to attend.

The holiday season has arrived! Make plans to engage in your favorite holiday traditions at All Souls, or try something new this year. Here’s what’s coming up: November Events Fall Art MarketSaturday, November 19 & Sunday, November 20 | 10 am to 3 pmShop for handmade, home made arts and crafts from vendors from our community. Proceeds benefit All Souls Youth.  Laying of the LabyrinthSaturday, November 19 | 10 am to 3 pmIt’s all hands on deck as we lay out the hundreds of lights that will create our beautiful labyrinth, to be lit on December 4. Thanksgiving Festival SundaySunday, November 20 […] The post Holidays at All Souls appeared first on BeyondBelief.

Carefully constructed Soviet mythology made the October Revolution in Russia all about Vladimir Lenin. November 7 and 8 represent one of the most important events of the 20th Centuryand arguably a fulcrum point history—before this, things were this way, after quite another.  That presents a significant challenge for a blogger who trades in history.  On one hand the October or Bolshevik Revolution on November 7, 1917—October 25 under the old Orthodox calendar—is too big to ignore.  On the other the tale is so epic and complex that a wordy son-of-a-bitch like me with a tendency to digress and go off on tangents to explain every detail couldn’t confine myself to a manageable post. That a problem because Americans in general know ...

I got a nice note this morning from a PhD student in the UK thanking me for my book The Wisdom of Our Hands. He said the following. "I hope you do not mind me emailing you, but I am writing to you to firstly say hello and also thank you!  You see, I have recently finished a paper on the philosophy of work, trying to unite what I see as the opposing view of 'manual' (such as the trades) vs 'intellectual' forms of work that sadly I see as common in society. both here and in the U.S. I wish to try and increase understanding between different professions and to fight stereotypes. Your work, especially your recent book 'The Wisdom of Our Hands' really helped and I have quoted and referenced the book in the paper. It really was a great read ...

Change is stressful, full stop. Even positive changes in our lives can bring anxiety and stress, and yet, change is unavoidable. Change surrounds us particularly at this time of the year when the air cools and colorful leaves fall from … Continue reading →

“It is not more bigness that should be our goal. We must attempt, rather, to bring people back to the warmth of community, to the worth of individual effort and responsibility, and of individuals working together as a community, to better their lives and their children’s future.” – Robert F. Kennedy When and how have … Continue reading Warmth

I’ve been searching online for depictions of Pangu, a creator deity in Chinese folk religion. So far, I’ve found lots of video game and anime and cartoon depictions of Pangu, which appear to be more or less commercial, and generally from an outsider perspective. But I’ve found few depictions done by religio-cultural insiders. This is … Continue reading "Depictions of Pangu"

I am almost ready to publish a book that I’ve been working on for many years. We’re putting the final touches on the layout and then it will be good to go. I’m trying to come up with a blurb for the back of the book. I would be interested in your feedback. Does this […]

Alan D.D. reviews Ritual: An Essential Grimoire, by Damien Echols and Lorri Davis. Continue reading Review: “Ritual: An Essential Grimoire” at The Wild Hunt.

In the past couple of years there has been a resurgence of interest in the connections between racism, religion, and imperialism. But these connections have been a topic of conversation for over half a century. Today, were more likely to talk about colonialism, but the connections are the same. Here’s theologian Benjamin E. May in … Continue reading "Race, religion, and imperialism"

The last few weeks have been full of ordinary tasks around the house and yard. Sometimes we forget to be grateful for these very ordinary things. I think about people whose lives have been disrupted by war, by floods, by fire, by despots. Margy and I are able to do our ordinary tasks and ordinary […]

A sermon for the Sunday before Election Day. Today, we lift up our 5th Principle, "The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large."

    I’ve only been to King’s Chapel in Boston twice. They are a delightful anachronism. Arguably the oldest Episcopal church in the United States, they became Unitarian in the years following the Revolution. They’ve kept a version of the Book of Common Prayer which is the basis of their corporate and individual worship. The […]

At last week’s conference we spent several days of the topic of “Mindful Dying.” The reflections were deep and important and one of our conversations was a wondering about what happens to our spirits, our souls after we die. Different religious traditions have different answers to that question, but Unitarian Universalists do not have a […]

I'm home from Minneapolis and earned a bad cold in my travels. The stress of travel can take a toll. The ISACS conference was great. I got great feedback from several who attended my three presentations. To be with thousands of dedicated teachers is a remarkable experience. And yet, education in America seems in a state of disarray. I explained to those in my presentations that as a beginning teacher, I knew very little of what I was doing, and was lucky enough to seek help. I did so by attending the first organizational meeting of the New England Association of Woodworking Teachers in the fall of 2001.  While on my trip to New England, I visited North Benet St. School in Boston, and Buckingham, Brown and Nichols School in Cambridge. At...

                                                  Lord Dunmore in Highland regalia. John Murray , Earl of Dunmore, Royal Governor of the Colony of Virginia was in deep trouble the fall of 1775.  Even though the main theater of the damnable armed rebellion against King and Parliament was far to the north around besieged Boston and along the frontier with Canada, angry Virginians had driven him out of his capital at Williamsburg and he had been forced to seek refuge the frigate  HMS   Fowey  at Yorktown on June 8, 1775.  With British forces tied up elsewhere the Governor Dunmore had about 300 men—Royal Marines, sailors, and a small loyal Guard with which to harass the local r...

I grew up in a small town that consisted of mostly families and the breadwinners either commuted elsewhere for work or worked in some capacity supporting our community.  I’d say the common goal for the majority of my town’s residents was to create and maintain a place that was safe and conducive to the enrichment … Continue reading Small Town

What do you do when you find yourself clinging to a familiarity that has become mediocre, unwilling to step out into a new possibility that is promising but uncertain? It begins with accepting reality, and remembering that we have the power to create change.

Each of us bears the symbol of life's progress and transition through the scars we bear on our physical bodies, as well as the scars that dot our emotional, spiritual, and mental beings. Continue reading Column: The Scars of November at The Wild Hunt.

The University is also committed to free expression. Speech not specifically directed against individuals in a harassing way may be protected by traditional safeguards of free speech, even though the comments may cause considerable discomfort or concern to others in the community. (Source: University's Non-Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation Policy available at www.sewanee.edu/media/provost/Non-Discrimination-Policy.pdf) http://www.discoveruu.com/images/logo.png

Please join us this Sunday (6 November 2022) at 11:00 AM for “Slave State” featuring special guest speaker Curtis Ray Davis II. Wrongly imprisoned for 25 years in Angola, Curtis Davis got a firsthand look at what it means to be the property of the State of Louisiana. He has worked tirelessly ever since to … Continue reading "All-Ages Worship (6 November 2022)"

For 6 November 2022, the PreK- 5th Grade class will have a regular classroom session. PreK – 5th Grade will continue Toolbox of Faith exploring humor which is represented by sandpaper. Middle and High School will remain in the sanctuary to hear Curtis Davis.

Please join us on Sunday (6 November 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 continuing our discussion of the Unitarian Universalist Pocket Guide. This week’s readings continue in the section entitled “Our Faith” and include “Not the … Continue reading "Online Adult Religious Education — 6 November 2022"

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 November 2022, we choose the The Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana. The Food Bank is the primary resource for fighting hunger in Northwest Louisiana. The Highland Blessing … Continue reading "The Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana — November 2022 Give-Away-The-Plate Recipient"

Please join us next Tuesday (8 November 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.

On November 5, 1968 a slender and bespectacled early childhood educator became the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress.  It would not be the last of Shirley Chisholm’s political firsts. Shirley Anita St . Hill was born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 30, 1924 the oldest of four daughters to immigrant parents Charles St.Hill, a factory worker from Guyana, and Ruby Seale St. Hill, a seamstress from Barbados.  When her mother struggled to raise her children while working, Shirley and two sisters were sent to live with their grandmother in Barbados in 1921.  They lived on her grandmother’s farm in the Vauxhall village in Christ Church where they attended a one room school.  She later wrote of the experience: Ye...