These are practice bandsawn boxes made in preparing for a chapter in my new book about designing boxes. Design is serious work that, at best, captures a spirit of play and playfulness. Seriousness and play go hand in hand... especially as I attempt to write about design. The boxes are made from basswood and the lids have been dyed with black leather dye. Today I start working on a larger version in walnut. I've placed a couple calls to my local US representative in hopes of persuading him to elect a moderate as speaker of the house. He and other Republicans are unlikely to do so. But it would be good for a few Republicans to propose a less inflammatory conservative that even a few Democrats might support. But making boxes will be a much ...

  Ray Conniff's 1953 recording of The Twelve Days of Christmas  made the song an American holiday staple. The Twelve Days of Christmas is an English carol —a classic example of a cumulative song , the lyrics detail a series of increasingly numerous gifts given on each of the twelve days of Christmas —the days that make up the Christmas season , starting with Christmas Day to the day before Epiphany (5 January). Twelfth Night is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “the evening of January 5th, the day before Epiphany, which traditionally marks the end of Christmas celebrations.’ The cover of Thomas Bewick's 18th Century Mirth Without Mischief  which published the version of an old English carol with its now common lyrics...

On the last Solstice our oldest and  her love of seven years got married at the Cobb County Courthouse. Bob and I were delighted to attend as witnesses.  During the day I found myself in that awkward place of needing … Continue reading →

I started this several years ago and put it away, not to rediscover it until Saturday, when my daughter planned an alebrije-painting session for the family as a Christmas present. I did the patterns on the tongue, top fangs, and right cheek then. I want to complete it and hang it on the wall, instead […]

In this week's Pagan Community Notes, a sigil for the new year, The 2022 word of the year is "woman," crossings of the veil, and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of January 2, 2023 at The Wild Hunt.

  Jögge Sundqvist, author, teacher and master of sloyd sent me a booklet, "Surolle," of a poem about sloyd, and its relationship to life. Last summer when I taught a class at ESSA on making spoon carving knives, one of my students, Bob Farris was planning to take a class with Jögge at Marc Adams School.  I asked if Bob would give one of my spoon knives to Jögge and he did. The booklet is Jögge's gift in return. I'll treasure it. The spoon knife that I sent will I hope find use. The world of sloyd is a small one. And it is my hope that it grows enormously. Make, fix and create. Assist others in learning lifewise.

(Photo of Rev. Dr. Emilie Townes from Vanderbilt University Divinity School) “An important distinction must be made: liberation and freedom are not the same. Liberation is a process. Freedom is a temporary state of being. Liberation is dynamic. It never ends.” -Rev. Dr. Emilie Townes (Womanist theologian and social ethicist – read more about Dr. … Continue reading Freedom and Liberation

                                                                                Winter Wonderland  sung by Doris Day. Post New Year’s Day is a good time to share one of those holiday playlist songs that really have nothing to do with Christmasor any other seasonal fest.  Among the most common of these are the winter or snow songs—think Frosty the Snowman for kids, the seduction or date rape song (take your pick) Baby its Cold Outside , Snow from the movie White Christmas , My Favorite Things from the Sound of Music , and of course Jingle Bells.  But the most popular of the more modern of those songs is Winter Wonderland. Winter Wonderland  was written by composer Felix Bernard and t...

I remember a conversation I had with someone very dear to me several years ago. He sneezed and I said, “God Bless You”. He was silent for a beat and then said, “OK”. I realized  that I had stepped into … Continue reading →

Creation is next to godliness. Creation is the ultimate manifestation of the divine within each of us. We’ve all heard the line, “Cleanliness is next to godliness,” right? Well, I don’t buy it. Our world is dirty and messy and that’s the way God (God, in this sense, meaning something larger than myself) made it. In my view, creativity is the most God-like. God Creates If we are to believe the truth (if not the fact) that God said, “Let us make man in our image and in our likeness …” (Gen. 1:26), then in his act of creation, he […] The post Creation: A Parent’s Perspective appeared first on BeyondBelief.

Sun, 00:00: Best wishes for a warm 2023 full of love! https://t.co/ooMNucub00

So what did I learn last year? That I can stick to a daily art practice for six months or more. That expecting myself to share what I’ve worked on that day is crucial to keeping the practice going. So it’s a fresh new year, and my plan is to make art every day, and […]

STAT News takes a look at what most surprised experts about the COVID pandemic. STAT senior writer Helen Branswell’s article is well worth reading. The point that I found most interesting: “How long the damn thing has lasted.” Branswell reports: “[In the past,] the pandemics that have been recorded have mainly been caused by flu. … Continue reading "An expert look back at the pandemic"

Three years ago at this time, I was planning to attend General Assembly, the annual gathering of Unitarian Universalists. I was finally getting recovering from a major health issue, and ready to travel again. Then, of course, the pandemic hit. Well, we’re slowly learning to live with the ongoing pandemic. I live close enough to … Continue reading "In person or online…."

TWH's editor-in-chief Manny Tejeda Moreno looks forward to the stories to come in Pagan news for 2023. Continue reading Editorial: The Pagan news to watch in 2023 at The Wild Hunt.

Trees are all different, individual and unique. But some are more so than others. Ronald Reagan was infamous for saying, “if you have seen one redwood tree, you have seen them all.” I was appalled when he said it and certainly don’t agree with the statement. True, though, younger redwoods look more alike than the […]

Theresa will reflect on her run for County Council and our 5th principle, "The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large."

    MIND AND NO MIND A Zen Talk for a New Year Edward Sanshin Oberholtzer Delivered at Empty Moon Zen New Year’s Zazenkai 31 December 2022 The case Damei (Daibai) asked Mazu (Baso), “What is Buddha?” Mazu said, “This very mind is Buddha.” Gateless Gate, Case 30 Sit with that for a moment while […]

At the beginning of this new year, we imagine possibility. Our theme for the month, liberation, will ask us to imagine a world in which all people are free. Today, let us begin with the possibilities for ourselves and our being. Imagine new things are possible for you. What do you hope is possible for you … Continue reading A New Year of Possibility

                                                                    New Years's Day from U2's third album War  in 1983. I watched Irish band U2 be presented with the Kennedy Center Honors last Wednesday on the annual CBS TV broadcast with some mixed feelings .  On one hand, the super group has a long history of churning out compelling rock anthems for almost every unjust conflict , social justice and human rights crisis , and international cause of the last 40 years, almost always on the right side if sometimes fuzzy about holding some powerful interests personally responsible for the suffering they decry.  On the other hand, the smugness , preening , and self-congratulations of the band’s le...

2023 is not going to be 2020 Part IV. It brings different challenges and new opportunities. We have what we need to make this a good year, but so much depends on keeping our attention on the business at hand and on maintaining our sacred relationships.

Maybe this year, No sweeping resolutions..

In the spirit of New Year’s Eve," writes Karl Seigfried in TWH's final column of 2022, "here’s my countdown of ten things that I’d love to see in the coming year, each with a link to something to do or something to read as inspiration towards action." Continue reading A Wish List for American Paganism, 2023 Edition at The Wild Hunt.

Several years ago I basically dropped off of social media.  I needed to do this for my sanity.  I had entered into parish ministry and although I’ve long been an advocate of ministers engaging in social media, I found that the algorithms that allow social media to be such a boon for some were becoming […]

The sixth day of Kwanzaa celebrates Kuumba, the principle of creativity. People are instructed to reflect on what they can do to leave their communities more beautiful and whole. What are the ways you can add beauty to the world (and to your community) in 2022?

The Manse sitting room window overlooking Christ’s Pieces on 15th December 2022 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— One of the many things that angers me almost beyond measure about the neoliberal project — which, since the mid-1970s, has done so much damage to the health and well-being of individuals, wider communities of belonging and, of course, to our common home, Mother Earth — is that it has done so much to destroyed human networks of solidarity and compassion and replaced them with networks of competition and greed. It’s the project which, rememb...

                                                               Auld Lang Syne by Scottish singer  Dougie McLean.   Although there have occasionally been other songs that made feeble attempts to displace it, New Year ’ s Eve belongs firmly to Auld Lang Syne and it promises to remain supreme in defiance of any and all changes in musical tastes and styles . Most of us know that the song comes from a poemby the revered Ploughman Poet and Scottish national icon Robert Burns.   But you may not know the whole story.                                    The Scottish Ploughman Poet Robert Burns. After his first blush of fame with the publication of his Kilarnock Poems in 1786, Burns be...

Please join us on Sunday (1 January 2023) at 11:00 AM for our New Year’s Day morning service — “It Goes Without Saying” 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 … Continue reading "All-Ages Worship (1 January 2023)"

There are no children’s religious education classes on New Years Day 2023. And there are no middle school / high school religious education classes on New Years Day 2023. Our children and youth will be welcome to stay in the worship service for an intergenerational worship service on New Years Day. Or they can stay … Continue reading "Children and Youth Religious Education Classes on Break — New Years Day 2023"

Our 9:00 AM Sunday adult religious education class will be taking a break this Sunday (1 January 2023). After our holiday break, please join us on Sunday, 8 January 2023, at AM via Zoom (link to be provided is future website post). We will be discussing the next two chapters in the book God of Love: … Continue reading "Adult Religious Education Class on Break — New Years Day 2023"

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 January 2023, we choose Volunteers for Youth Justice (VYJ). Volunteers for Youth Justice is a community-supported non-profit that annually recruits, trains, and supports hundreds of volunteers to … Continue reading "Volunteers for Youth Justice — January 2023 Give-Away-The-Plate Recipient"

Please join us next Tuesday (3 January 2023) 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.

This crustose lichen caught my eye while out walking today. I was especially taken by the dramatic apothecia, those dark gray spots outlined in a very dark gray. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring my hand lens with me, so I couldn’t take a good close look at the apothecia. But here’s what they look like when … Continue reading "Lichen"

Intern minister Sabrina Trupia’s recent sermon titled “Joyful is the Dark” has me thinking how I have grown. That entire service at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair, New Jersey, where I attend, was focused on darkness.  The Time for All Ages adaptation from Lemony Snicket’s story “The Dark” vividly brought me back to my […] The post The dark is not scary, its mystical and may be joyful appeared first on Nature's Sacred Journey.

        It’s the eve of the eve of a new year. At my age with little time to squander, nonetheless I have to say about 2022, goodbye, and good riddance. As we entered the year people wanted us all to notice that 2022 was the year the film Soylent Green took place […]

What are the messages you internalized growing up about rest? Did anyone around you take the time to nap? Was there a stigma around rest and the idea that we need to constantly produce? You are invited to reexamine notions of rest and the stigma that may or may not surround it. Humans are not … Continue reading Rewriting Messages

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— After its opening lines had come up last week in a conversation with a friend over a pre-Christmas pint, for the first time in many years I reread Wilfred Sellers’ influential essay published in 1962 called “Philosophy and the Scientific Image of Man.” I had been suggesting to my friend that, conceived in the most minimalistic way possible the free religious tradition to which I belong affirms an intuition that, somehow, a) there exists a “whole” in which everything is always-already intra-actively held together and...

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? by  Postmodern Jukebox featuring  Rayvon Owen and Olivia Kuper Harris. Back in the day everyone who was not a misanthropeor a shut-in went out on New Year’s Eve.  The toffswore their white ties and tails or elegant evening gowns and furs to don paper hats and dance the night way to orchestras in sprawling Art Deco ballrooms.  At least that is what all of the old movies taught the rest of the Depression and war weary populous.  But those average Joes and Jills also went out and celebrated with their own funny hats and noise makers in urban ballrooms, lodge halls, piano bars, and neighborhood saloons.  And it was not just attractive young people.  Period photographs reveal that revelers include m...

I receive a daily meditation prompt from the Open Heart Project Community, a virtual Buddhist Sangha. The prompt that has stuck with me this week is a quote from Maya Angelou: “This is a wonderful day. I’ve never seen this … Continue reading →

Prayer for the Week of January 1, 2023 - A Prayer of Self-Acceptance Grace and Compassion, may we love and accept ourselves as we are and as we may change. May we love and accept ourselves as we are, with the seeds of growth for responsibility, care, peacemaking, joy, justice...

These are a few of the things I’ve been watching in the Unitarian Universalist (UU) universe here in the United States: Article II Study Commission The commission charged with revising Article II of the bylaws of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) released draft wording of a revision. From the few reactions I’ve seen online or … Continue reading "The year in review: Unitarian Universalism"

Star shares a12-month overview of the year ahead utilizing a different tarot deck for each month. Continue reading A look ahead to 2023 with the tarot at The Wild Hunt.

Life is short, indeed – too short not to slow down, find comfort, and greet the birds and bugs. -Steven Leigh Williams (CLF) Slow down today and notice something small.

      Lovely and lyrical and as sharp as aCenter of all centers, core of cores,almond self-enclosed and growing sweet –all this universe, to the furthest starsand beyond them, is your flesh, your fruit. Now you feel how nothing clings to you;your vast shell reaches into endless space,and there the rich, thick fluids rise […]

There is a poetic tradition coming out of ancient Ireland called the breastplate prayer. The breastplate prayer calls upon the powers of the universe, the natural world and the human experience as a breastplate, as a protection, as a courage … Continue reading →

The Top 10 posts of 2022 on Under the Ancient Oaks: Loki’s three messages for the world, 8 pieces of bad advice, worshipping Gods from different cultures and different pantheons, answering the call of Cernunnos, and more.

December Will be Magic Again  form Kate Bush's 1979 British TV Christmas special. It’s hard to believe that the Winter Holidays Music Festival has been running for years and we never before got around to Kate Bush, the revered British singer song writer, dancer, and producer.  Her unique four octave voice, brilliantly original lyrics, and performance style integrating her vocals, instrumental talents, and modern dance made her one of the biggest stars in the United Kingdom.  Far less known in America, she is something of cult favorite with indie musicians and art rock fans.                                 Kate Bush as a young star. Born asCatherine Bush on July 30, 1968 in Bexleyheath, Kent, in the greater L...

Educators and students are navigating the new political landscape and one Pagan educator describes some of the challenges. Continue reading The education divide and crisis at The Wild Hunt.

Taken with a Fuji X-T2   Just click on the photo to enlarge it.  At the end of another year disprupted by COVID-19 and, alas, possibly at the beginning of another year of disruption thanks to what is unfolding in China at the moment, it seems appropriate to post this image as the last Wednesday Photo of 2022. I took it in August 2022 whilst visiting my parents’ (who live very near to Harwich) as we walked from Dovercourt into Harwich Old Town for a spot of lunch. The mural appeared in August 2021 and I believe the jury is still out as to whether this is a genuine Banksy or not. I’m not competent to judge but, in all cases, the painted boy and the real boy together made it a scene that demanded a photo. 

It is easy enough to get elected to the House if you can figure out what the voters in a district already want and become that. This seems to be the moral of the story of George Santos, the newly elected Republican House member who has recently been exposed for fabricating most of his biography. […]

  New Year’s Day The first of January is another day dawning, the sun rising as the sun always rises, the earth moving in its rhythms, With or without our calendars to name a certain day as the day of new beginning, separating the old from the new. So it is: everything is the same, bound   [ … ] The post Happy New Year! Sunday Services Resume January 8, 2023 at 10:30 a.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

Today’s Kwanzaa principle is Ujima, or collective work and responsibility: To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our problems and to solve them together. How can you create a cooperative community today?

The following are the top ten best books I’ve read since this time last year–in alphabetical order by the author’s last name because agonizing over a precise order would take all the fun out of remembering these books: From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life by […]

I have to say that I’m not a deep thinker. I don’t wonder how the universe came to be. I don’t wonder why I’m here. I don’t wonder about the meaning of life. To me, these are questions that don’t … Continue reading →

  We Wish You a Merry Christmas  performed by an early Platters lineup.  More than sixty singers have performed with the group over the decades and several groups still tour using that name. Yes, you can still sing Christmas carolsafter December 25.   In fact, since the Christmas season lasts until the Feast of the Epiphany, it is both traditional and encouraged, particularly in Britain.   So today we feature one of the most widely sung carols which entirely omits any mention of the birth of Jesus or the tale and legends about the event.   We Wish You a Merry Christmas is instead a street begging song from the west of England that more than hints at a little extortion if the beggar’s’ demands are not met. The song was cast in i...

Researchers find water contamination and consequences higher in Black, Indigenous and Latino communities in the U.S. Continue reading New research says BIPOC communities still exposed to unhealthy water at The Wild Hunt.

The second day of Kwanzaa celebrates self-determination, or kujichagulia. We work together as a community to allow each person the opportunity to name themself, to claim their identity, and to set their own pathways. How have you claimed your right to self-determination? How do you make space for others to do that?

How do those black-eye peas look, smell, feel, sound, and taste? The post How to Have a Perfect New Year appeared first on BeyondBelief.

This showed up on one of my feeds last week. I thanked the person who posted and immediately shared it with a short message about how this hit me – this truth – this short message.  This last week I … Continue reading →

                                                       Kwanzaa song Harambee by Rita Marley. Today is the second day of Kwanzaa which was created in 1966 during the blossoming of a period of Black Nationalism by Maulana Karenga , a Black studies scholarand a leading Los Angeles militant who was born Ron Everett in Parsonsburg, Maryland on July 14,1941 Beginning on December 26 and running through January 1, candles are lit representing African values.   Each of the values is given a Swahili name.   Today is day two— Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): “To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.” Kwanzaa was meant to be a family centered celebration of African...

      Cultivating Verification in One School Zen A New Shushōgi for Now Words of Eihei Dōgen Selected and arranged by Dōshō Port (I think Dosho Port is one of the most significant scholar priests within our emerging North American and Western Zen schools. He was ordained a priest and eventually received transmission from […]

More than a decade ago, I created a checklist on this blog listing all the Perry Mason novels. I planned to write notes on each novel, talking about recurring characters, recurring or unusual plot devices, and mention of any interesting legal points. This project was abandoned for a number of years, but I finally decided … Continue reading "Reviving the Perry Mason project"

In this week's Pagan community Notes, Kwanzaa begins, Benin bronzes in Germany returned to Nigeria, a tarot card reader is sued by a professor for allegations of involvement in Idaho murders, and more news and announcements. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of December 26, 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

On December 23rd, a severe rain and wind storm passed through Maine, after also creating havoc with storms and snow in other states. In the early afternoon, I was sitting in the living room, and suddenly heard some sort of clattering outside. I had previously gone out in the rain to right overturned trash barrels, […]

  It is important to make certain the table saw fence is in alignment with the miter gauge slots. If the fence is out of alignment it can cause burning on some woods like cherry, or cause a rougher cut. In my new book, Designing Boxes, careful alignment of the fence will be the first step in making a table saw sled for box making. Make, fix and create... assist others in learning lifewise.

        In many Eastern Orthodox circles today, the 26th of December, is the feast of James the Just. Me, I usually mark it out as a particularly special day. Although first I should note how his celebration actually is a movable feast. Catholics usually mark his life and ministry on the 3rd […]

Kwanzaa is a modern holiday celebrated by many African-Americans. It was created to celebrate African heritage, African-American history, and seven communal principles important to the liberation of African-American people. It is a way to honor history and build for a better future. How do you honor your peoples’ history? What are the principles you embrace … Continue reading Building History

While I’ve come to accept that sometimes the Pagan community just doesn’t care about something as much as I do, there are times when I find myself screaming “this is important! Why are you not reading this?!”

                                                                      Good King Wenceslas performed by Loreena McKennitt. Today is the second day of the 12 Days of Christmas, a day with multiple personalities as we will see.  We will celebrate with a  an English carol about a Bohemian princeling/saint. The Brits and the residentsof other former pink blotches on Queen Victoria ’s globe like many Americans usually spend today, Boxing Day, storming the malls and shops on what is usually the busiest retail sales day of the year. Disgruntled gift recipients hit the refund and exchange desks and others spent the gift cards and even old fashion cash.   But unlike most Yanks they do it on an offici...

To the passerby and the full participant alike, both Hanukkah and Christmas show up as happy holidays.  We not only say that to each other–happy holidays–but I think it’s safe to say that we think of them as happy celebrations. … Continue reading →

Sometimes Santa comes on a dinosaur. Why not? We are never really sure what might be lying behind the next bend. One of our son’s surprised us with the inflatable. It was weird enough to be really fun. Ya gotta have fun, at least sometimes. I had fun this week and enjoyed the holiday and […]

We take a look back at some of our articles on Chrismas and holidays traditions. Continue reading Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas! at The Wild Hunt.

          THE FOURTH CHRISTMAS SERMONA Zen Vision of a Christianity that Is and Might Be James Ishmael Ford Christmas Day. Today is Christmas Day. I rummaged through records of my quarter century of parish ministry and since, what now, seven full, and pushing on eight years preaching around and doing some […]

                                                                                Go Tell it on the Mountain --vintage recording by the Fisk University Jubilee Singers. Of all the announcement carols Go Tell It On the Mountain is unusual for a number of reasons.  It is not European but rooted in the American Black Community and dated to the era when the end of slavery was being celebrated.  It is not an announcement by the Heavenly Hosts, but an instruction to a whole people to spread the good word.  And because of its connections to the Civil Rights Movement, it doubles as a Christmas Carol and a liberation anthem. Watch Night when African-Americans gathered on New Year's Eve to greet the...

Christians around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ today on Christmas. It is the birth of the promise that something new is possible in the world. It is the birth of hope for justice and liberation. What are you hoping will be born into the world today?

                                             Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. Our first Christmas Day carol is my own personal favorite.  I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day is unusual in that there is no reference to the Christ child,manger, Holy Family, shepherds, Magi, or even the Herald Angels.  Instead, it focuses on the message of those angels amid the ghastly carnage of war.  It was written not by famed Unitarian hymnist Samuel Longfellow,but by his brother Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, then America’s most honored and adored poet who had created national epics like The Courtship of Miles Standish , The Song of Hiawatha , and Evangeline as well as the school recital...

The church will be closed this Sunday so minister and staff can enjoy the holiday with their families.

as preached at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston, December 24, 2022 Joy to the world! Can you feel it? Bright lights against the unanticipated cold. Festive songs, flickering candles, cider, cookies, stories of miracles and poems that attend to “[t]he starry form of love”… Christmas and the winter holidays are here. Joy to […]

December 24, 2022 @ 6:30 pm Come join us for our traditional service of lessons and carols for Christmas.

Come join us for our traditional service of lessons and carols for Christmas.

"This will be my last regular column for The Wild Hunt." Our weekend editor, Eric O. Scott, reflects on parenthood, life in St. Louis, and a decade of writing on these pages. Continue reading No Place to Raise Children at The Wild Hunt.

Hello, dear ones~ There is a moment, brief, and most often unnoticed, that is the pause between each inhalation and exhalation. Our bodies do this on our behalf. If we pay attention, and if we choose to, we can make the pause even longer. This week, ... read more . The post Co-Ministers’ Colloquy – December 20th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Schenectady County (and much of the state) is back up in medium again (and much of downstate is in high). Please be careful as you gather with loved ones over the holidays, especially if travel is involved. It can be hard to stay vigilant for ... read more . The post COVID 19 Update – December 20th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

In the early months of 2023, the BIPOC Book Group will discuss the following: January 2023: The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia February 2023: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Huston March 2023: We Are Not Like them by Christine Pride & Jo Piazza April 2023: ... read more . The post Upcoming reads for the Books by BIPOC Authors Discussion Group appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

We just wanted to wish you and your family a joyous season, whatever holidays you celebrate at this time of year. We celebrate many of them! We are honored to be the ministers of this congregation. It has been a tough few years to carry forward ... read more . The post Holiday Message from the Co-ministers appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Please join us on Christmas Eve (Saturday, 24 December 2022) at 6:30 PM for our annual Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship Service. This is a candlelight service including a reading of the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke, lighting candles in the darkness, silence, meditation, and carols. All ages are welcome. Please bring the kids … Continue reading "Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship Service Tonight (24 December 2022)"

Please join us on Sunday (25 December 2022) at 11:00 AM for our Christmas morning service — “A Place for Peace” with our minister Rev. Barbara Jarrell and  our religious education director Susan Caldwell. This will be a low-key service of songs, readings, and meditation.  All ages are welcome. We will be meeting in the … Continue reading "All-Ages Worship (25 December 2022)"

There are no children’s religious education classes on Christmas Day 2022 and New Years Day 2023. And there are no middle school / high school religious education classes on Christmas Day 2022 and New Years Day 2023. Our children and youth will be welcome to stay in the worship service for intergenerational worship services on … Continue reading "Children and Youth Religious Education Classes on Break — Christmas Day 2022 and New Years Day 2023"

  Andrea Bocelli performs Adeste Fideles  with a choir in a TV special.  He included it in his popular Christmas album My Christmas . Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful ) is one of the most exuberant of announcement carols and is a perennial favorite for both choir performance and congregational singing at Christmas Eve services .   It is based on two Old Testament verses said to foretellthe coming of the Messiah— Psalm 98, 96:11-12 and Genesis 3:17-18 but like other popular carols it is sung as if it is an announcement of the birth of Christ by angels on high. Mystery surrounds the creation of Adeste Fideles in Latin for use in the Catholic mass .   Proposed authors include St. Bonaventure—highly unlikely—the English Cath...

Our 9:00 AM Sunday adult religious education class will be taking a break this Sunday (25 December 2022) and next Sunday (1 January 2023). After our two-week break, please join us on Sunday, 8 January 2023, at AM via Zoom (link to be provided is future website post). We will be discussing the next two … Continue reading "Adult Religious Education Class on Break — Christmas Day 2022 and New Years Day 2023"

Please join us next Tuesday (27 December 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 (24 December 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. Please note that this group is still meeting via Zoom.  You will need … Continue reading "Meditation with Larry Androes (24 December 2022)"

On this Christmas Eve, I think back to the story of the birth of Jesus and realize that on this day many years ago, Mary must have been in labor, her body preparing for childbirth. Her pituitary was signaling to her body that it was time by producing oxytocin, and her uterine muscles responded contracting … Continue reading Labor

A depiction of St. Francis of Assisi laying the babe in the manger for his living nativity scene in 1223. Note —We interrupt our Christmas Eve announcement carols for this chestnut from the Old Poet. On Christmas Eve it’s time to reflect on a treasured part of the Christian celebration of the Nativity .   And a certain obscure poet finds modern meaning in its symbolism. In 1223 St. Francis of Assisi is said to have made the first recreation of the birth scene of the baby Jesus in a cave near Greccio in Italy .   He was inspired by a recent trip to the Holy Land .   It was a living Nativity tableau, with people representing the Holy Family , shepherds, Magi , and angels and live animals, including an ass and an oxfor realism.   Th...

                                                         It Came Upon a Midnight Clear  sung by Ella Fitzgerald. Note —It’s an announcement carol two-fer Christmas Eve plus a bonus annual Murfin verse! In churches around the world this evening announcement carols will be central to the services.   Many are bold and glorious whether sung by massed choirs or by congregations that know them by heart.  Adeste Fideles ( O Come All Ye Faithful ) and the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah are two of the grander examples, although there are plenty of others in Christmas song books.   But my personal favorite is much more modest. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear is one of the oldest and most beloved ...

Nativity Scene by Eiichi Kotozuka (1906-1979)   A Christmas Day meditation offered to the Cambridge Unitarian Church as part of the Sunday Service of Mindul Mediation (Click on this link to hear a recorded version of the following piece) —o0o— Shin’ichirō Imaoka (1881-1988) was a living legend in Japan who influenced the development of progressive and liberal religion in that country and who was one of the key figures in the founding of the “yunitarian” [sic] movement there. He was also a key figure in the inter-faith organisation called the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF) and, in a recent biography about him by George M. Williams, he has been described as being “a Bodhisattva-Kami-Christian-Unitarian...

Scott wells no longer does much with his blog, but he’s active on Mastodon. And one of his Mastodon posts pointed me to InCoWriMo, or International Correspondence Writing Month. The month is February. The idea is to write letters to random people all over the world. The tagline is “Vintage Social Media.” How it works: … Continue reading "InCoWriMo"

Everything felt and seemed peaceful and quiet until my monkey-minded self interrupted my focus to wonder what on earth that raven was doing sitting so quietly for so long. Perhaps he wanted to see if I was still as funny as I believed. Who knows the mind of a raven? Continue reading Column: Be Easy When You Can at The Wild Hunt.