With just two days to go, I made use of one of my few free days to go downtown and get a few supplies: gift wrapping paper, thick craft rope, glue, and a big burlap bag. I had found out what to do: instead of having someone dressed as Santa delivering gifts, I would have someone don a homemade Yule Goat costume. Continue reading A Low-Kew Nordic Yule at The Wild Hunt.

On this day, Christians around the world celebrate gifts given to the infant Jesus by royal travelers from afar.  What gifts do you give to the world today?

The New Year brings renewed troubles for those seeking to cross the nation’s southwest border.

Sunday, January 8 Finding Our Center: Reconsidering the Unitarian Universalist Principles & Purposes   After more than two years of intense study and discussion, an appointed commission has suggested a significant rewrite of the article in our Unitarian Universalist Association bylaws that includes both the Principles & Purposes and the Sources of Our Faith. Join us   [ … ] The post Sunday, January 8 ~ Finding Our Center: Reconsidering the Unitarian Universalist Principles & Purposes ~ 10:30 a.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

When we walk on the earth with reverence, beauty will decide to trust us. The rushed heart and the arrogant mind lack the gentleness and patience to enter that embrace. Beauty is mysterious, a slow presence who waits for the … Continue reading →

I had a rather thrilling experience as I was flipping through my phone’s photos to find the reference photo for this drawing. I saw a photo I had taken of the half-finished drawing and thought for a few moments that it was the original. Hyperrealism is seldom, if ever, my goal, but to have successfully […]

Prayer of Reckoning with History - Week of January 8, 2023 Wisdom, may we have the strength, courage, and curiosity to examine our heritages, histories of harm and histories of healing, and attend to which stories we choose cause harm or healing or other effects here and now and in...

                                                       We Three Kings  performed by  Mediaeval Baebes.   The Twelve Days of Christmas season officially endedyesterday.   The Catholic Church and WesternChristian denominations that borrow its liturgical calendar observe the Feast of the Epiphany today .   It is a fitting wrap-up for our annual Murfin Winter Holidays Music Festival.   In the United States and some other countries, the feast is now celebrated on the First Sunday after New Year ’ s Day which will be January 8 this year.   Theologically it is a celebration of the revelation to the world of Jesus as the fully human God the Son.   As such it celebrates a facet of the Trinity .   Little...

Holli S. Emore, MDiv, the Executive Director of Cherry Hill Seminary and founder of Temple Osireion, shares about her recent pilgrimage to Egypt. Continue reading Pilgrimages: “I returned changed, as one should following an initiation” at The Wild Hunt.

The poet Toi Derricotte told us that “joy is an act of resistance,”  and we know that resistance is liberation. We are free when we feel joy and live with love on our hearts. -JeKaren Olaoya (CLF) Express joy as an act of resistance and liberation today.

Pam, the minister at the Unitarian Universalist congregation just down the street in Scituate, told me about “Healthy Congregations,” a nonprofit that carries on the work of Rabbi Edwin Friedman and Peter Steinke. Friedman applied Murray Bowen’s family systems theory to congregational life, which is outlined in his book Generation to Generation. Beginning in the … Continue reading "“Healthy Congregations”"

Bob and I practiced hot yoga for a time in AL and in GA.  We loved it and probably would still be going if the drive to Decatur was not so long and traffic laden.  This hot yoga is a … Continue reading →

                                                                                Hey, Ho, the Wind and the Rain  from Shakespeare's  Twelfth Night  performed by Alfred Decker. Tonight is the final night of the Twelve Days of Christmas as celebrated in William Shakespeare ’ s comedy Twelfth Night .   The fantasy romance included a shipwreck , star-crossed lovers , cross dressing , and ultimately a happy ending —an Elizabethan rom-com .   It was first produced on February 2, 1602— Candlemas , the Anglican end of the extended Christmas season —at the hall of the Middle Temple but was set on Twelfth Night , January 5.                                        

Today’s article comes to us from Amethysta Herrick who reviews the science and data on the recent fusion breakthrough. Continue reading Science Perspectives: Lawrence Livermore National Lab and the Futility of Nuclear Fusion at The Wild Hunt.

In an essay titled “Jain Ecology,” Satish Kumar records a “water sutra” taught to him by his mother: Waste no waterDon’t ever spill itWater is preciousWater is sacredThe way you use water is the measure of youWater is witnessWater is the judgeYour wisdom rests on your careful use of water.(Satish Kumar, “Jain Ecology,” Jainism and … Continue reading "“Water is sacred”"

Photo of Fannie Lou Hamer from the Library of Congress My favorite quote comes from Fannie Lou Hamer, “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” True liberation is interdependent, segments of the population may have certain privileges, but no one is truly liberated while there is a system of oppression in place. -Aisha Hauser (CLF) How can … Continue reading Until Everybody Is Free

For technical reasons passing understanding, I’m unable to post here except for a brief note via my phone – so here it is: Subscribe to Hold My Chalice at Substack!

Tim Atkins I’m proud to belong to a living religious tradition that embraces evolution, both scientifically and spiritually. Continue reading "Meeting the New Year"

Archaeological evidence, as well as information from myths and legends, shows that in a variety of Celtic settings, the center was the most cosmological point. Temples and ritual sites seem to have been focused on a central point or area, … Continue reading →

Finding and following this path was critically important to my spiritual growth and depth, and to my happiness. It continues to be a very good thing for me, and I want to share what I’ve found with others who need and want it. But it’s not for everyone.

                                   Alan Lomax recorded Kentucky traditional balladeer Jean Richie for the Library of Congress in 1949. Note — As we close in on the end of our Winter Holidays Music Festival we will spend two days on the close of the Twelve Days of Christmas as observed in British tradition and the Anglican liturgic calendar on January 5.   The next day, the Feast of the Epiphany or Day of the Three Kings will wrap things up. Twelfth Night is the eveof the Feast of the Epiphany and the end of the Christmas Season.   In Englandespecially it was one last eruption of gaiety and mirth before the more somber and sacred reflection of the Epiphany—somewhat analogous to Mardis Gras or Carnival before Len...

Three of us were in the office in the early afternoon. Each of us was feeling a little bit grumpy. Each of us was glad to be done with 2022, and hoping that 2023 will be a little bit better. I told them my theory. Here we are, three years into a pandemic. Historically, pandemics … Continue reading "Grumpiness and ukuleles"

January is often a time when we push the reset button. Reflecting on our lives, we can make amends, make changes, and begin again in love. Change is not always easy and institutional change can be even more difficult as different folks have their own ... read more . The post January Theme: Change & (R)evolutions appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Dear ones, As we prepare to be away for Sabbatical, there are so many details to tend to. Underlying all the specifics is a passion to support and sustain the shared ministries of the congregation. So, we are doing all we can to offer clarity and ... read more . The post Co-Ministers’ Colloquy – Jan. 3rd appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Children in Kindergarten through 6th grade will start in the Great Hall for the first part of the service. Afterwards, they will meet in their own rooms: Wonderful Welcome (K-3rd grade) Love Connects Us (4th-6th grade) No Coming of Age session this week since they will be having ... read more . The post This Week in Religious Education – Jan. 3rd appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

During the time that the co-ministers will be on sabbatical, Rev. Dr. Leonisa Ardizzone will lead worship once a month, provide support for the Board and Staff, as well as be available for urgent pastoral care needs. Some of you have met her when she ... read more . The post Introducing the Sabbatical Coverage Minister, Rev. Dr. Leonisa Ardizzone appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Our Co-ministers will be on Sabbatical from Jan. 13-Mar. 24. During that time, we will have some really great guest worship leaders, including the Rev. Dr. Leonisa Ardizzone, as noted above. During this time, the Co-ministers will be engaging in deepening spiritual practices and some writing ... read more . The post Sabbatical Update appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

The tradition of the Mummers Parade in Philadelphia has deep roots and a connection to Paganism. Continue reading The Mummers Parade: Philadelphia’s Pagan New Year Celebration at The Wild Hunt.

  ZERO TO THREE’s State of Babies Yearbook: 2022 provides policymakers with the information they need to advance state policies to improve the lives of infants and toddlers. Telling the story of America’s babies is more important than ever. Share the State of Babies Yearbook: 2022 with your members of Congress and encourage them to learn more about how your state measures up on nearly 60 data points essential to ensuring that babies have what they need to thrive. Read: read more... The post January Action Alert: Share the 2022 State of Babies Yearbook With Congress appeared first on Promise the Children.

I am fat. This adjective is not an insult, nor does it come with any moral judgment attached to it. It is simply a description of my body. Doctors are routinely amazed when tests they run show that my heart, liver, and blood sugar are all healthy. And yet, at this time of year especially, … Continue reading Body Liberation

One more day’s drawing and it will be done, I think. From a photograph of the ocean section of Biosphere 2, outside Tucson, AZ.

What does unconditional love mean? What does it gift to us in our lives? I first experienced unconditional love in my friendship with Lori Slawinski. I have been looking back on my life by going through old papers these last several weeks–my winter project. The other day, I reread dozens of letters from Lori from […]

The view from the window of my study in the Cambridge Unitarian Hall (Imaoka sensei’s calligraphy at the top). Click on photo to enlarge.   May we all be persistent in a free, creative, and universal faith, and march forward for the purpose of realizing the Kingdom of God, or Pure Land of Buddha, that is nothing but the Ideal Community. Amen. This prayer by Imaoka sensei ( Shin’ichirō Imaoka, 1881-1988) can be found in his Selected Writings on Free Religion and Other Subjects, p. 115

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?