When I gave up doing pottery in about 1976 to launch my career as a woodworker, I  felt that the clay was in my bones and in my hands to the degree that I could pick it up again.  It was to be "like riding a bike." Today, after 40 some years I tested my theory in the clay studio at ESSA.  I was rusty. I had a few failures as one would expect, but I managed to "throw" a few bowls. The photo shows one. It will be interesting to see how they turn out after trimming and firing. It was fun. Centering the clay is a process of centering the mind as well, and when the mind wanders, the clay wanders also. I don't have the skill for this that I once had, but in my test of the theory of it, my bowls offer testimony of sorts. I thank ESSA and my ...

Please join UUs and James Carroll as we discuss the second half of Leviticus and the evidence that it has a separate authorship tradition from the other law codes in the bible, including how some of the laws contradict each other. We will discuss the implications of these contradictions on authorship, theology, and ethics.

NEW COMERS AND LONG TIMERS WELCOME! Join UUs after service as Rev. John covers a brief history of Unitarian Universalism, the congregation, our Principles, and what it means to be a UU today. This is a great Sunday to invite a friend to church and hang around with them afterwards for the class.

What is the center of our faith? How do we define who we are as Unitarian Universalists? And how is Unitarian Universalism redefining itself? This week, a look at how we express our values and how our Principles are being revisited and renewed.

      A Note on the Use of Chairs in Zen Meditation I have been practicing Zen well past fifty years. My skin is wrinkling. My hair is a different color than it was in my youth and maturity. I’m shorter than I once was. And I need to go to the bathroom when […]

Who knew that trees could dance? This one seems to be doing it. Or maybe it is taking a bow after an amazing performance. It reminds me of one of my favorite hymns, “Let it be a Dance.” Video: Ric Masten Let it be a Dance (Chorus)Let it be a dance we do.May I have […]

In this week’s reflection, Side With Love Field and Programs Director Nicole Pressley writes: Cornell West famously reminds us that justice is what love looks like in public. As Unitarian Universalists, our work for justice is an expression of deep belief that all people are worthy of love and liberation. Today, that work often looks like resisting the criminalization of people’s identities, their bodies, and their communities.  In recent years, this has looked like Unitarian Universalists supporting people seeking, aiding, and performing abortions in Texas, Kansas, Michigan and Kentucky when abortion has been criminalized. We’ve raised money to bail out Black mothers and Water Protectors. We’ve supported ballot initiatives to d...

President Andrew Jackson, self-proclaimed friend of the working man, lost no time in ordering out Federal Troops to crush a strike by canal diggers. It had been George Washington ’ s dream first.   And a big one.   Decades later it seemed that despite enormous obstacles, it was finally coming to pass.   But on January 29, 1834 the hundreds immigrant Irish , Dutch , and German laborers downed their picks and shovels to protest to the brutal conditionsof hewing the ditch by hand from the stony soil of Virginia(now West Virginia) from first light to the descending gloaming seven days a week.   Blacks were also on the job—mostly slaves contracted from local plantations—but whether they joined the impromptu strike is unclear.   Sl...

A recent dip into familiar sources about spirituality led me back to A. Elliott Peaston’s The Prayer Book Tradition in the Free Churches (1964; one-hour loan available from Internet Archive) and particularly to its chapter on the Free Catholics. Less than a tradition, but more than a whim, for about a decade after the Great War, the … Continue reading "Anti-sectarian, pro-beauty"

There is only one certain answer to this question: we don’t know. Still, we can explore it and develop partial and tentative answers. They will never be complete answers. But they can be enough to help us understand our place in the universe.

“Our goal is for our faith communities to be spiritually alive, learning from and contributing to liberation cultures and legacies. For our faith communities to be welcoming homes for people of all colors, sexualities, classes, ages, abilities, genders and citizenship statuses. For our faith communities to regularly invite us into and prepare us for courageous … Continue reading Everyone

I’ve done some preliminary research on a twentieth-century Universalist minister who popped up when I was down an internet hole. He’s not completely forgotten, but not a celebrity either, and my digging showed him first to be interesting, then complex, and then more than a little horrifiying. There’s a story there. It’s going to take … Continue reading "New research interest"

The Malleus Maleficiarum and The Discoverie of Witches were among the texts sold at a recent auction in the UK, both bringing top dollar as part of an estate library. Continue reading Famous Witchcraft texts sell for a tidy sum at The Wild Hunt.

We received a wooden pallet holding 450 pounds of tile for a bathroom renovation, but then I was left wondering what to do with the pallet that all the tile had been loaded on. The answer of course was simple. Free Wood! Due to the crate being made originally from green lumber, the nails were clinched too tight in the wood to be easily removed, so with the exception of two boards that I was able to pry loose, I used a skill saw to cut the rest free. Having decided to make the box entirely with hand tools, I hand planed the wood and then cut the joints using a dozuki saw and chisel. Today I plan to add a base and lid. I chose to leave the materials only partly planed to provide a more rustic result. For joints, I chose a simple hand-cut o...

In a Ph.D. dissertation with the imposing title “The Relationship between the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas and the Horse: Deconstructing a Eurocentric Myth” (Univ. of Alaska Fairbanks, 2017), Yvette Running Horse Collin (now Dr. Collin) argues that horses did survive in parts of the Americas from the Ice Age to at least the twentieth … Continue reading "How long have horses been in the Americas?"

Please join us on Sunday (22 January 2023) at 11:00 AM for “Creating a Path Toward Understanding And Accepting the Beauty of Religious and Cultural Diversity” by Rev.Rev. Betty Grace McCollum. We are delighted to welcome Rev. Betty Grace McCollum (Unitarian Universalist minister and faculty sponsor of the World Religions Club at Southern Arkansas University). … Continue reading "All Ages Worship (29 January 2023)"

2023 Pledge Drive — We Need Your Pledge Now UPDATE — Congregational Meeting Announcement (29 January 2023)

We have an updated agenda for our upcoming congregational business meeting on Sunday (29 January 2023). We are announcing time and location for next congregational meeting: Date:  Sunday, 29 January 2023 Time:  1215 PM Location:  All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church (9449 Ellerbe Road, Shreveport LA  71106) or on Zoom (Link // meeting ID — 872 … Continue reading "UPDATE — Congregational Meeting Announcement (29 January 2023)"

All Souls members and friends — 15 January 2023 has come and gone.  And we still everyone’s pledge for 2023 in order to create a budget for the coming year. Money in the collection basket is great, but a pledge helps us know how to budget for the needs of the church in the coming … Continue reading "2023 Pledge Drive — We Need Your Pledge Now"

Children and youth will attend the worship service for the first 15-20 minutes and then are dismissed to their classes. After the holiday break, we are now discussing the wisdom of the world’s religions is one of the six sources of our Unitarian Universalist faith. It’s important that we gain an understanding of teachings and … Continue reading "Children and Youth Religious Education Classes — 29 January 2023"

Chinese protesters holding up blank sheets of paper   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— In November of last year many of you will have read about and/or seen pictures of demonstrators in China holding up blank sheets of paper or placards. In doing this they were not only straightforwardly protesting about their Government’s Zero Covid strategy but were also specifically challenging the authorities with an unspoken, more general question, about their repressive tendencies, namely, “Are you going to arrest me for holding a sign saying nothing?” But, a...

Back in 2005, in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, we started talking more and more about evil — the evil of our terrorist opponents. Philosopher Richard J. Bernstein wrote: “I want to examine this new fashionable popularity of the discourse of good and evil… it represents an abuse of evil — a dangerous … Continue reading "Abuse of evil"

  The Faithify crowd funding appeal for Compassion for campers is up and stay will up for 30 days until February 27.  Faithify is like GoFundMe for Unitarian Universalists.  See it and share widely.  We will also receive a match grant for 20% of the total raised from MidAmerica Chalice Lighters! Our goal is to raise $2500 to continue our critical work.  You don’t have to be a Unitarian Universalist to donate on the app. Compassion for Campers is a project, involving many congregations across the county,which provides essential gear and supplies to the unhoused population of McHenry County who spend all or part of a month camping out or sleeping in vehicles and vacant spaces. It provides emergency equipment including tents, sleepin...

Please join us next Tuesday (31 January 2023) at 12 noon for our weekly Zoom lunch. Starting this week, our weekly Zoom lunch is going dual-platform — join us from home using Zoom or in person in the social hall. Bring your lunch and meet up with your All Souls friends, have lunch, and just … Continue reading "Zoom Lunch Now on Tuesdays (31 January 2023)"

Please join us on Saturday (28 January 2023) 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 (28 January 2023)"

“Spirit, help us to understand that we each have a role in justice work For our liberations are tied to one another’s Give us the clarity of mind to know what our individual part is in the struggle That there are many ways to protest injustice Help us to find our way and commit to … Continue reading Our Part

When I purchased this home and land, I did more than take title to some property. I made a covenant with the land and the land spirits to care for them and all the lives they hold. To work to nourish them and help them provide for the animals and the winged and crawly creatures who, in turn, sustain the land. Continue reading Chickens and Rats and Land-Spirits, Oh My at The Wild Hunt.

It began when I saw a post on social media mentioning that there were now AI chatbots of Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde with which users can interact. I chatted with a virtual Oscar for a bit (he was flattering about my literary career– chatbots are often quite flattering). I decided that I should try my […]

International Holocaust Remembrance Day is an opportunity to reflect on the past and the lives lost during the Holocaust, as well as to take action in support of human beings seeking asylum and the right to do so.

Newcomers’ Dinner Rev. Alice and Cynthia are hosting a newcomers’ dinner on Saturday, February 11, from 6:00-8:00 p.m.  All visitors are welcome! This is an opportunity to learn more about this congregation and Unitarian Universalism, as well as to get to know one another better. Childcare will be provided.   Please RSVP to revalice002@ gmail.com with   [ … ] The post News: Saturday, February 11 ~ Newcomers’ Dinner ~ 6:00 p.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

    A Simple Introduction to Zen’s Koan & Huatou James Ishmael Ford It seems we all have a question. Why was I born? What is it all about? Who am I? What is this? In my adolescence along with all the other things of changing body and awareness, I realized how desperately I wanted […]

This article from the New York Times tells of the revolutionary power of crafting beautiful and useful things. The Revolutionary Power of a Skein of Yarn. Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning lifewise.

The grim reality is that 78 years after the world got confirmation of the breadth of the Holocaust anti-Semitism is on the rise in the United States and in Europe.   As the last survivors of the death camps and the Allied soldiers who liberated them dwindle the collective memory has dimmed.   Pollsconstantly show that younger people are at best foggy on the reality—many can’t place World War II within 50 years on a timeline, are unsure who the combatants were and who was responsible for barely understood atrocities.   Holocaust denial is on the rise spread mainly by those who try to mask their own intentionsto “complete the job.”   Right wing nationalism is making a comeback in Europe making substantial gains in several natio...

Most of us forgive Because we have trespassed Not because we are magnanimous. The Women Gather, by Nikki Giovanni Going to our center is a journey–one that we make again and again having been called away from our center by … Continue reading →

Prayer of Responsibility - Week of January 30, 2023 Wisdom, may we first acknowledge that sometimes responsibility is not fun. Also, sometimes it is. Sometimes responsibility leads to wonderful relationships and meaningful effort. And sometimes responsibility leads to boring and tedious tasks. So, Wisdom, you understand when maybe there are...

Since 1947, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has maintained the “Doomsday Clock.” That mythical clock shows how close humanity is to total destruction. Originally, the Clock only looked at the danger from nuclear armageddon, but in recent years has included threats from ecological catastrophe, bio-security, and other controllable threats to humanity. The Clock was … Continue reading "90 seconds to midnight"

Join us as we get ready for this year's Herb & Craft Fair!

“May we continue to trust that truth-telling and speaking truth to power is one of the ways that we do this liberation work.” -Julica Hermann de la Fuente (CLF) How can you speak the difficult truth today?

Jeff Milchen Ten months ago, we critiqued the ill-advised and damaging plan by U.S. Postmaster Louis DeJoy to purchase tens of thousands of gas-guzzling delivery trucks. We’re excited to report the USPS changed course.

We went to Big Bend National Park over the winter holidays. Here's my account of the trip. The post A Trip to Big Bend appeared first on Colin Bossen.

Why is it, when one problem is solved another takes its place?  Why me? Why always me? Well, that’s my anxiety talking to me. It always overwhelms me by telling me nonsense. The thing is most of the time I … Continue reading →

Cheyenne in the Blizzard of 1949.  It was a worse storm than the one in '56, but ours seemed epic enough. Note —Here in the boonies of McHenry County, Illinois we got our first real accumulating snow since November yesterday—just two or three inches. Light snow showers with temps hovering around freezing today and tomorrow then a real storm with up to six inches this weekend followed by plunging temps just in time for Groundhog Day.  Considering the pasting broad swaths of the country have experienced this year, we are feeling a little bit guilty.  But for me it brings to mind an epic blizzard from my childhood in Cheyenne. It was one of those storms that dive down from Canada along the Front Range of the Rockies and run smack int...

I woke up around seven o’clock. We were still in Pennsylvania. The sky was a dull gray. My roomette was on the north side of the train, and I kept hoping for a sight of Lake Erie. I finally thought I saw the lake in the distance. It started snowing. The blowing snow made verything … Continue reading "Lake Shore Limited to Framingham"

“I ignite my flame of justice and shine a light on this scar because the healing is not done. The healing is not done because we are still called to do the work of dismantling white supremacy culture and decentering whiteness from our bones: from our congregations, from the ways in which we interact and … Continue reading Healing

Recent finds by detectorists further the connection between Roman and Celtic deities in the U.K. Continue reading Roman gold found by detectorist and other finds connected to Roman deities at The Wild Hunt.

Sunday, January 29 Finding Our Center: UCMH Through the Years   As we end our focus on the monthly theme of Finding Our Center, we bring our attention to our own congregation. Join us this Sunday, Jan. 29, as Rev. Alice and members of the church share reflections on what they have experienced as the heart   [ … ] The post Sunday Worship: January 29 ~ Finding Our Center: UCMH Through the Years ~ 10:30 a.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

Melissa Jeter Let us be grateful for the vital force that wakes us and moves us. Continue reading "Inspired by My Ancestors"

Not being afraid Of what I don’t know I unanxiously await the emergence. Nikki Giovanni, Space What I don’t know.  It can keep me tossing and turning in the bed, unable to surrender my over-thinking mind to sleep. It can … Continue reading →

I wound up with a 7 hour layover in Chicago. The nice thing about train travel is that when you have a layover, you can leave the terminal. And when you have a layover in Chicago, you’re downtown, right in the Loop. The Art Institute is closed on Tuesdays, so I went to Exile in … Continue reading "Chicago"

Registration is now open for the winter/spring 2023 Covenant Groups! Each small group will include a trained facilitator, be comprised of between 5-9 people, and will meet six times between February and April for conversations based on a shared curriculum. Covenant Groups (sometimes called Chalice Circles or Small Group Ministry) are: • A way ... read more . The post Covenant Groups Begin Soon! appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Side With Love is thrilled to announce 30 Days of Love 2023! Our annual month of spiritual nourishment, political grounding, and shared practices of faith and justice, 30 Days of Love will go from Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (January 16) through Valentine’s Day (February ... read more . The post Side With Love’s Spiritual Nourishment for the Long Haul appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Read on into February with the classic Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Huston. We will gather by zoom on Monday, February 20, for a book discussion. We welcome all newcomers to the book read and discussion. If you’d like to lead a discussion or ... read more . The post Their Eyes Were Watching God, the February read for BIPOC Book Discussion Group appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Publishing Imprint of the Unitarian Universalist Association Begins New Distribution Relationship with Consortium® Book Sales & Distribution, an Ingram Content Group Brand, in Spring 2023 Continue reading "Skinner House Books Enters Distribution Agreement with Ingram Content Group: Publishing Imprint of the Unitarian Universalist Association Begins New Distribution Relationship with Consortium® Book Sales & Distribution, an Ingram Content Group Brand, in Spring 2023"

“We light this chalice—symbol of our faith alive in this world— naming our vision of collective liberation, and daring to re-member each other into beloved community.” -Deanna Vandiver Light a candle (or a chalice) today and name your idea of collective liberation out loud.

Children in Kindergarten through 6 th grade will start in the Great Hall for the first part of the service. Afterwards, these children will meet in the K-3 rd grade classroom next to the dining room for a Faithful Funday session. Faithful Fundays are Sunday ... read more . The post Religious Education News appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

What puts me out of whack? Well, actually a lot of things. I’m going to tell you about the one thing that is the hardest to deal with and that’s my health. It is with me wherever I go. It’s … Continue reading →

New research using LiDAR technology suggests Mayan society on the Yucatan peninsula may have been more complex than previously thought. Continue reading The complex organization of the Pre-Classic Maya at The Wild Hunt.

Sunday was the fiftieth anniversary of Roe v. Wade. On January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7–2 that the Constitution protects the right to choose to have an abortion. As Jamal Greene notes in his book How Rights Went Wrong, it is perhaps surprising to remember that that majority opinion was signed by […]

For generations, UUs have been jailed for our conscience in resisting systems of oppression. As our tradition becomes more justice oriented, rates of UU arrests are on the rise. How does our conscience also call us to be there for those whose bodies are on the line? Learn how UUs are building capacity to support and share the load in the face of mass arrest. Find out more about how to organize support for those who are arrested and jailed as a conscientious form of protest. Join our virtual training on February 7 at 4pm - 5:30pm PT / 7pm - 8:30pm ET. Presenters: Rev. Karen Van Fossan, Antoinette Scully, Rev. Dr. Clyde Grubbs, and friends. Register Now UUs have been engaged in social change efforts, including nonviolent civil disobedience...

Mary Tyler Moore in her self-titled TV show. Mary Tyler Moore died six years ago today in Connecticut.  The star of two of television’s most beloved, iconic, and influential sit-coms, a shrewd businesswoman and powerful producer, Oscar nominee for a type cast shattering dramatic role, philanthropist, activist, and feminist was 80 years old.  She had been suffering complications of Type 1 diabetes in recent years which had left her nearly blind.  Few actresses have been as loved by fans and show business insiders alike, Moore was born on December 29, 1936 to a comfortably middle class Catholic family in Brooklyn, New York.  When she was eight years old the family moved to Los Angeles where she decided to become a dancer at age 17 wh...

Shoichi Yokoi in police custody after his 1972 capture on Guam. On January 24, 1972 Shoichi Yokoi, a sergeant of the Imperial Japanese Army, was discovered on Guam.  He had spent 28 years hiding in the jungle despite learning twenty years earlier in 1952 that World War II was over, and Japan was defeated. On the other hand, he missed being toasted by a flame thrower or being a POW and collected his back pay. Amazingly, he was not the last Japanese hold out.  Second Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda had to be relieved from duty by his former commanding officer on March 9, 1974 in the Philippines and Private Teruo Nakamura, a member of an indigenous Taiwanese tribe and a colonial draftee, was captured by the Indonesian Army on December 18,1974 on M...

I hope you will enjoy this first interview on the topic of my new book Wilde Nights & Robber Barons. In it, I talk about the discovery of letters from Lord Alfred Douglas to his “Darling Pretty” Maurice Schwabe, Schwabe’s long-hidden role in Wilde’s downfall, Schwabe’s life of espionage and crime and the murder that […]

I remember sitting in an upper level undergraduate philosophy class back in 1982, when we were discussing nihilism. This was a time when the Cold War was frighteningly real to my twenty year old self. In this class discussion, I pointed out that there was a very good chance of a nuclear war wiping out … Continue reading "Unexpected optimism"

The collective liberation of humanity requires collective effort. We are all in this together. Perhaps you are doing this work and need others to join you in getting others free. Invite them to join you. Do you want to invite CLF members and friends to your liberatory work? Visit https://bit.ly/liberation-invitation to invite us.

In this week's Pagan Community Notes: "so-called" returns and an adjective, Imbolc and other announcements, Crossings of the Veil, and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of January 23, 2023 at The Wild Hunt.

Susan Frederick-Gray UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray respond to news of yet another tragic shooting. Unitarian Universalists are ready to work with elected and community officials to support responsible gun legislation measures. Continue reading "From the UUA President: We Mourn with the People of Monterey Park, CA"

Our friend Finchley, as my wife calls our friendly finch, is back! At least, I think it’s him. I’m not much of a birder, but I heard a familiar chirping around the house that made me say to Joy just this morning, “I wonder when the finches will come back.” And there one was a […]

In this clip Matt Baume delves into the history of the 1948 Hitchcock film “Rope,” which was based on the real-life Leopold and Loeb muirders. What particularly caught my interest was the description of the miscast Jimmy Stewart as “the Oscar Wilde character,” Rupert. The stage play, on which the film was based, was set […]

  I let the anniversary slip by yesterday.  On January 22, 1973 the Supreme Court decided the case of  Roe v. Wade  holding that a woman’s right to privacy in the 14th Amendment lets her terminate her pregnancy for any reason “up to the point of viability of the fetus” and for the sake of her health even later. While what was once considered settled, abortion rights are under daily attack by “a death of a thousand cuts” by emboldened Republican led state governors and legislators and the recent Supreme Court Decision that undermined abortion rights and signaledstates that there might be no limit to draconian laws to outlaw it and criminalizewomen, medical staff, and even anyone who supports them. The fight ...

We completed two new woodshop benches in the machine room at ESSA with the addition of butcher block tops and bottom shelves made from the tops of old benches. The old benches were one's I'd built out of scrap materialback in the days when we were concerned about having enough money to finish the project. These will serve well for many years in the ESSA wood shop. Make, fix and create...

Succumb to the warmth In the heart Where divine fire glows. Axioms for Wildness, John O’Donohue If someone were to say to you–where are you? Think about how you would respond. The most likely simple response would be almost unconscious:  … Continue reading →

We went out for a walk along the river that runs through Oshkosh, Wisconsin, today. A Bald Eagle soared overhead, landed in a tree, and soared off again when we got too close. Then a couple of minutes later, there was another Bald Eagle ahead of us, sitting in a tree. It was breathtaking to … Continue reading "Eagles"

Lunar New Year celebrations begin today throughout East Asia. In the Chinese calendar, we welcome in the Year of the Rabbit, which is thought to be a sign of peace and hope. What can you do to make the year ahead more peaceful and hopeful?

    Zen at the MarginsMonastic, Priestly, Secular, Jewish, and Christian Zens James Ishmael Ford A non-believer opened his heart to the Buddha, saying, “I am not asking about words, I am not asking about the wordless.” The world honored one sat quietly.The non-believer replied to this, “With your wisdom and heart you have parted […]

Italy has made an application to UNESCO to designate the Appian Way, the road that connected Rome to its empire, as a World Heritage Site. Continue reading The Queen of Roads seeks UNESCO recognition at The Wild Hunt.

A sermon considering the proposed covenant of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston. The post Our Covenant appeared first on Colin Bossen.

One of our favorite after-service events is returning! Join us for Soup & Bread Sunday on January 22nd. Bring a crockpot of soup, loaf of bread, or dessert to share. Questions contact Barb Fronzak. 

The stream of atmospheric rivers has finally paused for at least a bit and we were able to get out on the trails a few times this week. But the damage from the storms was widespread and obvious. This bridge leads to a trail that you can’t see for the downed trees. It is a […]

As we recognize the 50th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, which was overturned this summer, All Souls member Barbara Bannon reminds us of the importance of continuing to fight for reproductive justice. When a person’s reproductive organs are controlled by the State they are owned by the State! If we want to remain free citizens capable of making our own family planning and reproductive choices we are apparently going to have to band together and be considerably more vocal about our desire to remain free. This isn’t just about abortion. The draconian bills and laws that […] The post Forced Birthing appeared first on BeyondBelief.

Come join UUs this Sunday, January 22, to celebrate and learn about the Lunar New Year. KokHeong McNaughton will lead this fun class from 9:30 – 10:15 AM at the church. All ages are welcome! See you there!!!

I’m doing my best to avoid that cliche, pamphlet-fodder question, “What are the Unitarian Universalists?” It may not be a meaningful or knowable question anymore, and the answer usually says more about who’s answering than it ought. Instead, I’ll ask other questions; first, where are they found? Where is this community found? Conventionally, this would … Continue reading "Where are the Unitarian Universalists?"

“Grounding ourselves into a deep gratitude for the miracle of our bodies - however they look, move, and interact with the world around us - includes not only a celebration of our individual physical beings, but also a deep reverence for the intimacy of our connections. After all, our bodies do not exist in a vacuum - we physically interact with countless structures, systems, and communities each day that impact, and are impacted by, our flesh, bones, and spirit. For some of us, these interactions are predominantly empowering moments of welcome and respect. And for some of us, we encounter confusion, denial, and outright rejection as our norm. As Unitarian Universalists, we have historically embraced the breadth of our lived experiences...

Today is the festival that celebratesthe beginning of a new year on the traditional Lunar Chinese calendar—the Year of the Rabbit.   It is the fourth in the twelve-year periodic cycleof animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac.   The rabbit is a symbol of intellectand cautiousness. Traditional lore holds that the rabbit was among the 12 animals who raced to the Jade Emperor in a cosmic contest that ultimately determined the order of the zodiac signs. Though it was a weak swimmer, the rabbit used its brain, opting to cross the river portion of the course on a raft.   This year, like the animal, it is important to approach everything in a smart, deliberate way. In China, the festival is commonly referred to as the Spring Festival sin...

If you liked Psychic Witch and you want to take the next step on your magical journey, read Mastering Magick and work through the exercises. Truly mastering magic is the work of a lifetime, but this book will help you make substantial progress on this path.

Here are the last few days’ stages of the same drawing. I don’t quite want to call it done yet, even though I’m playing with other things as well.

“By no means are we [Unitarian Universalists] perfect; we often fail as much as we succeed. Yet even when ‘we have broken our vows a thousand times,’ we return to this essential work of justice and liberation for all.” -Rosemary Bray McNatt How do you deal with failures along the road to freedom and liberation?

Over the years I have come to understand that the informal work is equal in importance to the formal, as it grants us the opportunity to expand the “reach” of our magical consciousness into our “mundane” lives. Continue reading The Magic of a Regular Practice at The Wild Hunt.

When a minister is removed from fellowship, or resigns from fellowship with the Unitarian Universalist Association, the Ministerial Fellowship Committee sends out email announcing the minister’s name, and the reason for removal from fellowship, or the reason for resignation. These emails go out to all other ministers, and also, I believe, to key congregational lay … Continue reading "Stressed out"

In the September, 1829, issue of The Congregational Magazine, a cranky correspondent complains about an innovation of which he does not approve: “To the Editors.— … Many of your friends were surprised and amused to read, in your number for June, of a minister being ‘installed’ over the Congregational Church in Belfast, and of an … Continue reading "Innovation"

Please join us on Sunday (22 January 2023) at 11:00 AM for “The Forest or the Trees” 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. … Continue reading "All Ages Worship (22 January 2023)"

For thousands of years, the word “minotaur” meant only one thing; it was the singular creature of King Minos.  That beast had the body of a man but the head of a bull (some ancient sources said it was more like a centaur, with a bull’s body and a human head, but I give them […]

Barack Obama was unusually active with clemency orders and pardons in his last days in office. In 2017 Barack Obama spent the last days of his Presidential term churning out sentence commutations.  Hundreds were given to non-violent drug offenders facing draconian sentences under the exceptionally harsh Federal Sentence Standards, the most vindictive in the world.  But there are so many of those victims of the failed war on drugs that the commutations hardly made a dent in the American gulag.  Also given leniency were some white collar criminals, the kind of offenders that drew the more stingy grace of Obama’s predecessor George W. Bush.  Even a beloved baseball icon, Willie McCovey of the San Francisco Giants who was convicted on ...