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Celebrate Earth Week with Action, Worship, & Education

24 April 2023 at 08:45
Happy Earth Week! For environmentalists, the month of April means there’s an event every day of the week - sometimes several! With all of the Earth Day Celebrations, we wanted to pop into your inbox to highlight a few of our favorites. In collaboration with UU organizations and national partners, Side With Love is here to help you balance the urgent need for political education and mobilization with spiritual nourishment and leadership development. This week, you can nourish your spirits at the Active for Earthcare Service with the UU Ministry for Earth, develop your leadership skills at the Side With Love April Skill Up: Facing the Apocalypse with a Smile with yours truly, educate yourself on Solar 101 + IRA funds with the First Unita...

Elephant Armageddon by Gerard Malanga—National Poetry Month 2023

24 April 2023 at 08:16
Gerard Malanga--the Warhol years. Poet and photographer Gerard Malanga is best known for his association with cultural icon Andy Warhol.   He was the pop artist’s personal assistant, photographer, and sometimes actor during Warhol’s most famous period in the 1960s and ‘70s.   In fact, he has been called Warhol’s “most important associate” during those years. Malanga was the son of Italian immigrants and was raised in the Bronx.   He began writing poetry as a teenager and was soon immersed in the New York City avant garde art scene.   He began documenting that scene as a photographer. Malanga and Warhol. He was the chief assistant for artist Andy Warhol from the mid-1960s and founded the magazine Interview with him in 1969...

Common Ground for Angels and Guns

24 April 2023 at 06:06
Over the last two weeks my wife and I have been spending a lot of time in clinics,  infusion centers, and radiology departments getting treatment for my leukemia. This story is from the infusion center.  Infusion centers provide blood transfusions, … Continue reading →

April Action Alert: Ban Assault Weapons Now

23 April 2023 at 20:04
  “Data shows that a federal ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines is highly effective in saving lives in mass shootings. When a federal ban was in effect from 1994-2004, America saw a 37% decline in gun massacres and a 70% decline in assault weapons traced to crime. That means countless lives saved from preventable tragedies. But after Congress let the ban expire in 2004, mass shooting deaths increased by 347%.” – Brady United     Some of the read more... The post April Action Alert: Ban Assault Weapons Now appeared first on Promise the Children.

No conservative nerds

23 April 2023 at 18:47
I can’t figure out if this is anti-intellectualism or something stranger. But a website calling itself the “Washington Free Beacon,” which is funded by conservative billionaire Paul Singer, recently ran a hatchet-job piece about Lucas Kunce, a Democrat in Missouri who plans to run for U.S. Senator in 2024. Of course a conservative website is … Continue reading "No conservative nerds"

“I call myself a catalyst” – the visionary work of Cameron

23 April 2023 at 17:00
TWH celebrates the life and work of the Thelemite artist Cameron, who would have been 101 years old today. Continue reading “I call myself a catalyst” – the visionary work of Cameron at The Wild Hunt.

would works, episode 3

23 April 2023 at 16:42
Lee Valley has released a third episode of their Would Works series highlighting the role of woodworking in combating homelessness and building lives. https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/discover/inspired-to-make/would-works/meet-brunisha?utm_campaign=325126_Apr23-Wood-Video-WouldWorksInspiredToMakeSeries-Brunisha-US&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Lee%20Valley&dm_i=6EER,6YVA,12UXB3,Z977,1 In the meantime, I'm working on a new box design as shown. Make, fix and create...

Biblical Scholarship Class

23 April 2023 at 13:45
Sunday, April 23 @ 11:45 am. Join UUs and James Carroll for our Biblical Scholarship Class the 4th Sunday of the month.

Robin’s Nest

23 April 2023 at 13:32
It was a quiet week, the robins had finished the nest, but were elsewhere in the yard. But this morning, one of them has come into the nest and has been sitting there a long time. I took a lovely little walk around the yard, just to look at things. There was a sparrow taking […]

Dominion or Service? Theologies of the Earth

23 April 2023 at 12:30
American (Christian) religious divisions over environmentalism seem to hinge on one Hebrew word in Genesis. This week, we push back at the idea of "dominion" over the Earth...

Weekly Bread #219

23 April 2023 at 11:00
So wildflowers distracted me last week, but I am back into trees. I love how this one looks. It was charred in the fire a couple of years ago, but it kept standing as new growth surrounded it. Weakened as it was, it broke apart recently after heavy rain and wind, one of those “atmospheric […]

Unfinished

23 April 2023 at 05:00
Do not afflict me with a vision so narrow and a heart so small, That all my greatest hopes ­could be accomplished within a ­single lifetime. Rather, bless me with an unquiet spirit.” -From “A Prayer for Unfinished Business” by Kelly Weisman Asprooth-Jackson What do you imagine that goes beyond your lifetime?  

THE MOTHER OF MY HEART: Reflections on the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California

23 April 2023 at 09:52
THE MOTHER OF MY HEARTRemarks shared on the occasion of being named a “Distinguished Alumnx” at the Pacific School of Religion James Ishmael Ford Yesterday Jan & I spent the day at the Pacific School of Religion, where I earned an MDiv (1991) as well as an MA (1992). There were many stressors at the […]

The Big Sad

23 April 2023 at 10:10
The truth isI can’t rememberThe last timeI wrote a poem,Wore lipstick,Baked a cakeJust for the fun of it,Marveled at the moon. I can’t rememberThe last timeI felt like a personand not a production,The last time I wasn’tExhausted by strength,Just getting through. I don’t know whenI stopped smiling,But I know my bodyMisses laughter. I have no […]

Earth Day 2023 — plant a tree, plant a seed and your intentions too

22 April 2023 at 16:13
Well once again, it’s Earth Day. This celebration, founded in 1970, is a day to educate people on environmental issues. However, in my opinion, it is also a day to celebrate Mother Earth, give thanks for her nourishment and give back. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle to keep Her healthy. Recently, I interviewed an elderly man in […] The post Earth Day 2023 — plant a tree, plant a seed and your intentions too appeared first on Nature's Sacred Journey.

Myth Dispelled by Adam Possner—National Poetry Month 2023

23 April 2023 at 03:00
Physician/poet Adam Possner, MD in his office. Physician/poet Dr. Adam Possner addressed the anxiety and misinformation about the safety of vaccines that was growing and spreading even before the Coronavirus pandemic which was fueled by pseudo-scientific bullshit, social media, and credulous celebrities. Possner said that his life path can be categorized neatly in three different ways—the personal, the medical, and the poetic.   He was born in Florida, grew up in Kentucky, and settled down in North Bethesda, Maryland.   He has been married for 16 years and has two young boys. He went to medical school at the University of Michigan, residency and chief residency at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, taught at George Washington Univ...

Scraped

21 April 2023 at 19:18
The Washington Post investigated which websites got scraped to build up the database for Google’s chatbot. The Post has an online tool where you can check to see if your website was one of the ones that got scraped. And this online tool shows that danielharper.org was one of the websites that got scraped. True, … Continue reading "Scraped"

Brujería – and Pop Music – is in the Air

22 April 2023 at 17:00
Alan D.D. discusses how he uses pop music as part of his Witchcraft, including tracks by Lady Gaga, Jimmy Trumpet, and Motionless in White. Continue reading Brujería – and Pop Music – is in the Air at The Wild Hunt.

Brujería (con música pop) en el aire

22 April 2023 at 17:00
Alan D. D. analiza cómo usa la música pop como parte de su brujería, incluyendo exitos de Lady Gaga, Jimmy Trumpet y Motionless in White. Continue reading Brujería (con música pop) en el aire at The Wild Hunt.

Safer than the known way

22 April 2023 at 14:13
A short  “ thought for the day” offered to the Cambridge Unitarian Church as part of the Sunday Service of Mindful   Meditation.   (A recorded version of the following piece will appear here sometime on Sunday afternoon . . .) —o0o— Click on the photo to enlarge In the last couple of weeks I found myself taking another look at a painting I really, really dislike, namely, William Holman Hunt’s famous painting of 1853 called, “The Light of the World” that now hangs in the Side Chapel of Keble College, Oxford (see photo on the right). This painting was hugely influential in Victorian culture and, once upon a time, it could be found everywhere as it was endlessly reproduced in the form of postcards or larger engravings whic...

All Ages Worship (23 April 2023)

22 April 2023 at 12:55
Please join us on Sunday (23 April 2023) at 11:00 AM for “What on Earth?  An Earth Day Celebration and Flower Communion” with 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 … Continue reading "All Ages Worship (23 April 2023)"

Children and Youth Religious Education Classes — 23 April 2023

22 April 2023 at 12:52
Children and youth will attend the worship service for the first 15-20 minutes and then are dismissed to their classes. We are now discussing peace, social justice, and the interdependent web and these ideas connect to our Unitarian Universalist faith. Elementary class with Ash McLain and Kevin Henry will be exploring what makes a family … Continue reading "Children and Youth Religious Education Classes — 23 April 2023"

Upcoming Events Reminders for 22-23 April 2023 and Beyond

22 April 2023 at 12:48
Ken Peterson Memorial Service (29 April 2023 — details TBA on our web site later this week) Building and Grounds Work Day (13 May 2023 — details TBA on our web site later this week) 2023 Pledge Drive — We Need Your Pledge Now

Online Adult Religious Education — 23 April 2023

22 April 2023 at 12:17
Please join us on Sunday (23 April 2023) for our adult religious education class at 9:00 AM. Our adult religious education class is now a dual-platform class — meeting in person in the church social hall and also on Zoom. This week, we take a look at a few of the bills we are watching … Continue reading "Online Adult Religious Education — 23 April 2023"

Zoom (and In-Person) Lunch on Tuesday (25 April 2023)

22 April 2023 at 12:11
Please join us next Tuesday (25 April 2023) at 12 noon for our weekly Zoom lunch. 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 catch up.

Blue Boat Home

22 April 2023 at 05:00
“I give thanks to the waves upholding me, hail the great winds urging me on, greet the infinite sea before me, sing the sky my sailor’s song: I was born upon the fathoms, never harbor or port have I known. The wide universe is the ocean I travel, and the earth is my blue boat … Continue reading Blue Boat Home

Two for Earth Day—National Poetry Month 2023

22 April 2023 at 08:03
  Today is Earth Day which was first observed world-wide with giant marches and rallies on April 22, 1970.  It took the energy and activism of the peace movement and anti-Vietnam War protests and gave people a new purpose.  It has generally been credited with reorienting  somewhat stodgy and human-use focused conservationism into a dynamic ecology movement.  It is still widely celebrated and has become a kind of semi-official holiday.  But it has often been co-opted and is used both by polluting mega corporations and thumb-twiddling governments as green washing and providing support for band aid personal activities like recycling to avoid deeper changes which would cut profits, re-order economies, and fundamentally change how we li...

Meditation with Larry Androes (22 April 2023)

21 April 2023 at 22:56
Please join us on Saturday (22 April 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 (22 April 2023)"

Investigating the evidence for ancient Celtic tattooing

21 April 2023 at 17:00
SianLuc Heart discusses the possible sources and scholarship for an ancient Celtic practicing of tattooing. Continue reading Investigating the evidence for ancient Celtic tattooing at The Wild Hunt.

Raising the Roof for Our Raised Voices Poetry Series

21 April 2023 at 14:37
By Priyanka Ray | In 2021, Beacon expanded our poetry program, adding both new and established poets to sit alongside the classic masters—including James Baldwin, Mary Oliver, and Sonia Sanchez—who have long been an essential part of our catalog. The series, Raised Voices, serves the overarching goals of raising marginalized voices and perspectives, publishing poems that affirm progressive values and are accessible to a wide readership, and celebrating poetry’s ability to access truth in a way no other form can.

Building the Beloved Community

21 April 2023 at 12:31
A sermon preached before the March 5, 2023 congregational vote to adopt a new vision, mission, and covenant for the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston. The post Building the Beloved Community appeared first on Colin Bossen.

Youth Battle Government Inaction in New Documentary

21 April 2023 at 10:00
Sonja L. Cohen The film explores the lives and legal case of a group suing the federal government over climate change.

Eid al-Fitr

21 April 2023 at 05:00
At the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is the celebration of Eid al-Fitr. It is a day of sweetness and celebration, of charity towards those in need, and of seeking forgiveness for wrongs. Practice grace and generosity toward others today.

A Woman and Mountains By Helen Hoyt—National Poetry Month 2023

21 April 2023 at 08:03
                                             Helen Hoyt in her years as Poetry magazine's Assistant Editor. Helen Hoyt , also known as Helen Lyman or Helen Hoyt Lyman   was born on January 22, 1887 in in Norwalk, Connecticut.   Her father was Henry M. Hoyt, Civil War officer and Governor of Pennsylvania. Her niece was Elinor Wylie, an American poet and novelist popular in the 1920s and 1930s.   Her younger brother, Morton McMichael Hoyt, married Eugenia Bankhead, sister of Tallulah Bankhead. Hoyt received her AB from Barnard College in 1909. The editors of Poetry , Harriet Monroe and Alice Corbin Henderson included in their 1917 selection for The New Poetry: An Anthology Poems by Helen Hoyt . According to Ad...

What To Do With The Heat

21 April 2023 at 06:05
I’m no electrician, but when I ponder resistance, I continually hear in the back of my mind some old lesson from a physics class.  It’s about electricity and resistance.  My simple understanding is that as electricity tries to move through … Continue reading →

Prayer for Nurturing An Earth Economy

21 April 2023 at 06:00
A Prayer for Nurturing an Earth Economy - Earth Day 2023 Honey of the Rock, we’re searching for sweetness amid so much catastrophe and change. We’re searching for refuge, for protection, for assurance that we will all be all right. Honey in the Rock, Shelter and Refuge, Rock of Our...

The Green Man and a Royal Row

20 April 2023 at 17:00
Controversy kicked up over the use of the Green Man on the coronation invitation. Our UK correspondent, Liz Williams, gives us the rundown from a Pagan perspective. Continue reading The Green Man and a Royal Row at The Wild Hunt.

Fighting for Teachers, Children, and Their Parents: Building a Social Justice Teachers’ Union—Part II

20 April 2023 at 16:29
By Brandon Johnson | In 2012 the CTU went on strike for the first time in twenty-five years. We prepared our members to take this step by, first, making the case that we could better protect our profession by defending public education and our children. Second, we put forward a real plan for what schools needed to look like, and we effectively identified those people, including the mayor, who stood in the way. Finally, we began to raise awareness of the inequities that many people said couldn’t be fixed but we refused to accept. As a result, our members realized that we needed to withhold our labor in order to beat back the mayor’s proposal that would hurt both teachers and students.

Silence

20 April 2023 at 05:00
Ah, it’s true. When our ancestors spoke of heaven, they were speaking of this moment. When they went on about nirvana they imagined a time like this. When they sang of paradise, it was this morning they imagined. A time when all the mysteries of life and death are blended in a community of praise, … Continue reading Silence

The Weave of Resistance and Its Release

20 April 2023 at 06:06
Resistance has many connotations, but is neither good nor bad. Electricity needs resistance to create heat and do other useful things for us. Unrestricted or too much flow of electricity can do us serious harm if our bodies are what … Continue reading →

By Jorge Carrera Andrade—National Poetry Month 2023

20 April 2023 at 03:00
Jorge Carrera Andrade--distinguished Ecuadoran poet. Jorge Carrera Andrade was an Ecuadorian poet, historian, author, and diplomat of the 20th century. He was born in Quito, Ecuador in 1902 and died in 1978. During his life and after his death he has been recognized with Jorge Luis Borges, Vicente Huidobro, Gabriela Mistral, Pablo Neruda, Octavio Paz, and Cesar Vallejo as one of the most important Latin American poets. He was published in Aurora Estrada y Ayala’s literary magazine, Proteo which she started in 1922. Other contributors to the magazine included future Nobel Laureate Gabriela Mistral. From 1928 to 1933 Carrera first experienced traveling in Europe. He served as Ecuadorian Consul in Peru, France, Japan, and the United State...

Happy Patriots’ Day

19 April 2023 at 22:22
Massachusetts had a state holiday two days ago, on Monday. No, this state holiday is not the Boston Marathon. No, this holiday is not the holiday which recognizes an obscure Revolutionary War event that just happens to fall on the same date as St. Patrick’s Day. No, this state holiday has nothing to do with … Continue reading "Happy Patriots’ Day"

Email: curse / blessing?

18 April 2023 at 21:55
I’m involved in an email thread at the moment. Everyone is very polite. I like everyone on the email thread. The thread has gotten pretty long. New people have been looped in. People in this email thread are carrying on email conversations on the same topic outside the thread. Result: lots of confusion. A couple … Continue reading "Email: curse / blessing?"

Editorial: spiritual warfare rhetoric and anti-Pagan sentiment is reaching contagion

19 April 2023 at 17:00
Editor-in-chief Manny Moreno shines a light on recent rhetoric about "spiritual warfare" within segments of conservative religious communities that have begun targeting occult practices and Paganism, including referring to Pagans as Satanic agents and assassins. Continue reading Editorial: spiritual warfare rhetoric and anti-Pagan sentiment is reaching contagion at The Wild Hunt.

On Predicting the Future 

19 April 2023 at 10:00
William G Sinkford Our faith’s hope is to be found in living as if our deepest yearnings could be fulfilled.

Fighting for Teachers, Children, and Their Parents: Building a Social Justice Teachers’ Union—Part I

19 April 2023 at 15:42
By Brandon Johnson | The moment you sign up to become a teacher in the Chicago public school system you become an advocate, because you’re always searching for opportunities to meet the needs of your students. The system often falls short—from classroom materials, to reading and math support, to social and emotional development. Most schools don’t have social workers and counselors, for example, even though there is an overwhelming need for them.

FUUN Weekly E-Blasts

19 April 2023 at 14:08

Wednesday, April 26 ~ Dinner Church ~ 6:00-8:00 p.m.

19 April 2023 at 12:36
Nourish Your Body & Spirit at Dinner Church! Join us for our first ever Dinner Church next Wednesday, April 26 . All are welcome to this family-friendly opportunity to share food for the spirit as we enjoy time together in community. We’ll have build-your-own burrito bowls with a pay as you can donation to help cover   [ … ] The post Wednesday, April 26 ~ Dinner Church ~ 6:00-8:00 p.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

NEW – Summer Crafters’ Market at UCMH!  

19 April 2023 at 12:25
This summer, UCMH will host a Crafters’ Market directly across from the Hudson Farmers’ Market on Tuesdays, from June 20 through September 26 (excluding 7/4) from 3:30-6:30 p.m.  Local crafters who hand make items of all kinds are invited to submit applications for a high visibility 10×10 space. Click here for application and pricing. The application   [ … ] The post NEW – Summer Crafters’ Market at UCMH!   appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

Zen, God, and Doubt: Encountering the Mystery

19 April 2023 at 11:58
  Zen, God, and Doubt: Encountering the Mystery James Ishmael Ford There’s a lovely meme that floats around on social media. The words are by Rachel Held Evans. It goes: “This is what God’s kingdom is like: a bunch of outcasts and oddballs gathered at a table, not because they are rich or worthy or […]

Announcing Pride 2023

19 April 2023 at 11:48

Flying Flowers

19 April 2023 at 05:00
I recently volunteered in my child’s elementary school art class to help the children make ceramic flowers. When they were done, they were asked to draw their flowers, and to imagine where their flowers would be. The third-graders drew their flowers in gardens, and vases, and fields, but also in space and with dinosaurs. One … Continue reading Flying Flowers

Let It Rest

19 April 2023 at 06:07
In the Soul Matters documents for this month I came across this question in the small group work packet – ‘Is it possible that the form of resistance you need to take right now is rest?’ How do we do … Continue reading →

Wondrous Beyond Words

19 April 2023 at 05:23
JD Stillwater Remind me that life is magical and mysterious. Continue reading "Wondrous Beyond Words"

Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson—National Poetry Month 2023

19 April 2023 at 08:03
Ralph Waldo Emerson at 35 Yesterday poet Lawrence Raab gave us a glimpse of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s last fading days.   Today we look at the Sage of Concord in his prime 1836 at the age of 33.   That Emerson commemorated the Battle of Concord Bridge, in which his grandfather Rev. William Emerson served, and which took place at the very doorstep of the Old Manse which was both the residence of his ancestor and his own home. In addition to the Obelisk monument that he dedicated fifty years later, verses of his poem were later inscribed on the famed Minuteman statue.   In Lexington an equally famous statue memorialized Captain Parker grandfather of Unitarian preacher and theologian Theodore Parker. Emerson had just concluded his brief ca...

An Apocalypse Is In The Air

19 April 2023 at 05:00
Whatever is going on, it’s no longer just Pagans and witches who are noticing it. People in other religions and other cultures are seeing the same things we are, they’re just interpreting them in the context of their own beliefs.

Wednesday Photo: The Bandstand and West Pier, Brighton, awaiting Storm Noa

18 April 2023 at 19:00
Taken with a Fuji X100V using Øyvind Nordhagen’s Kodak Ektar 100 Recipe   Just click on a photo to enlarge it.

Co-ministers’ Colloquy – April 18th

18 April 2023 at 17:45
In her powerful poem Earthrise, Amanda Gorman includes these important words: “So I tell you this not to scare you, But to prepare you, to dare you To dream a different reality, Where despite disparities We all care to protect this world, This riddled blue marble, this little true marvel To muster the ... read more . The post Co-ministers’ Colloquy – April 18th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Religious Education on Sunday April 23rd

18 April 2023 at 17:40
We all will be meeting at Doane Stuart school for the multigenerational service with the other local UU congregations. It’s geared with children in mind, so children and youth are encouraged to attend with their families There will be childcare on-site for our youngest ones. ... read more . The post Religious Education on Sunday April 23rd appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Mid-Day Meditation – Thursdays 3pm – 4pm

18 April 2023 at 17:30
Join UU Schenectady member and mindfulness Buddhist practitioner, Tamara Geveci, for five sessions of shared in-person meditation and mindfulness practice. All are welcome for any or all of the Spring sessions in the Emerson Room (or maybe outside if the weather allows). This will be a time of ... read more . The post Mid-Day Meditation – Thursdays 3pm – 4pm appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Eyes on the Pies Coffeehouse

18 April 2023 at 17:20
Mark your calendar now for music, community, fun and PIES on Sunday, May 7! The Music Team will be hosting a coffeehouse after worship. A pizza, salad and cookies lunch will be provided in the dining room, followed by musical performances with some of our own UUSS talent ... read more . The post Eyes on the Pies Coffeehouse appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Unleash the Hounds: April 2023

18 April 2023 at 17:00
We unleash the hounds to do a quick round-up of some interesting archeological finds announced just in the first two weeks of April 2023. Continue reading Unleash the Hounds: April 2023 at The Wild Hunt.

A Robot’s Dream: the Zen Teacher Goes Ego Surfing

18 April 2023 at 16:18
A Robot’s Dream: The Zen Teacher Goes Ego Surfing The latest in ego surfing is asking Chat AI for a bio sketch. A colleague just did it. Found out he was an Anglican priest, although he was pretty sure he’d spent the past thirty years as an English Unitarian minister. And it had him as […]

Dreams

18 April 2023 at 05:00
“My dreams matter. They matter, as they pull me inward and yet simultaneously push me outside of myself; My dreams matter; they matter as they speak to the breadth of love, of pain, of hope, that rest deep in the fabric of my blood and bones.” – from “My Dreams, They Matter,” by roddy bell-shelton biggs … Continue reading Dreams

The Ways Water Weaves the World

18 April 2023 at 09:24
Understanding the vital role water plays in preserving and nourishing our planet.

It’s Good to Resist Perfection

18 April 2023 at 06:01
A Catholic priest, working in the addiction field, said during a workshop “the good is the enemy of the perfect.” Many of us were  brought up with this same belief to constantly seek moral and behavioral perfection, and to be … Continue reading →

Why I decided to like “De Colores”

17 April 2023 at 22:51
Back in 1993, when they revised the Unitarian Universalist hymnal, the editors decided to include “De Colores.” I’ve always hated “De Colores.” It’s a kids’ song. Actually, I like a lot of kids’ songs, but to me “De Colores” sounded like something from that horrible kid show with the ridiculous purple dinosaur. It didn’t help … Continue reading "Why I decided to like “De Colores”"

A Friend’s Umbrella by Lawrence Raab—National Poetry Month 2023

18 April 2023 at 03:00
                                                  Ralph Waldo Emerson in his later years but before his memory failed. Prolific contemporary American poet Lawrence Raab painted a touching portrait of a great mind trapped   by what we now recognize as Alzheimer’s disease.     Ralph Waldo Emerson—the most important and influential American thinker and writer of the first half of the 19th Century—remained active as a lecturer and author into the post-Civil War era.   But by 1879 to the despair of family and friends he had to give up public appearances.   In his own words he explained: I am not in condition to make visits, or take any part in conversation. Old age has rushed on me in the last year, a...

Pagan Community Notes: Week of April 17, 2023

17 April 2023 at 17:03
In this week's Pagan Community Notes, a review of Earth Day events and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of April 17, 2023 at The Wild Hunt.

Religious Educators Lead a Return to Community

17 April 2023 at 10:00
Sarah Cannon In a world altered by the pandemic, religious educators are finding ways to stitch unraveled communities back together.

Sri Nisargadatta’s Zen Hinduism

17 April 2023 at 11:35
            Sri Nisargadatta’s Zen Hinduism James Ishmael Ford Sri Nisargadatta is arguably the Zen community’s favorite Hindu. At the veryt least we sure like to quote Nisargadatta. As an example, I was reading a book on the practice of Jhanas, pretty inside Buddhist baseball. And there it was. A book […]

Never Forget

17 April 2023 at 05:00
Today is the Jewish commemoration of Yom HaShoah, on which we are tasked to remember the genocide of the Holocaust–and the things that led to it–so that such an atrocity will not be repeated again in human history. How do you remember the past in order to make a better future?

Spring: A Time of Renewal and Transformation

17 April 2023 at 10:41
Spring, as we all know, is a time of renewal of nature, a rebirth of plant life. I think that is a good metaphor for what religion is, or should be—a renewal of our spirit, a rebirth of our life. At All Souls, we pride ourselves on our diversity, like a field of wildflowers, everyone unique. We all have our own light I remember when my parents died, I was invited to a memorial mass at St. Francis Hospital for those who had lost loved ones during the year. During the reception, I was speaking to one of the nuns. […] The post Spring: A Time of Renewal and Transformation appeared first on BeyondBelief.

The New Road

17 April 2023 at 06:06
During the pandemic a new road was built behind my neighborhood connecting two busy roads.  This change distressed me. The noise and vibration of clearing the land and laying the road invaded my home environment. Our house literally shook as … Continue reading →

To a Contemporary Bunkshooter by Carl Sandburg—National Poetry Month 2023

17 April 2023 at 03:00
                                   Carl Sandburg--the Chicago years. Dead White guys have taken a backseat to lots of fresh and diverse voices so far in our National Poetry Month series.   But we can’t ignore one of my favorite poets and personal inspirations—Carl Sandburg.   The old   Universalist, socialist organizer, Chicago reporter, folk singer and song collector, and Lincoln biographer remains fresh and topical. Sandburg was mightily put out by the shenanigans of Billy Sunday, the former baseball player and hair-on-fire tent show Evangelist.   He was even more outraged at the capitalist bosses and their bought-and-paid-for politicians who benefited from Sunday’s sideshow freak distraction.   Sandburg...

Natives

16 April 2023 at 20:14
Over the past year and a half, I’ve slowly been learning a little about botany. One of the most amazing things I’ve learned is that somewhere around one third of all plants in the wild are not native where I live here in Massachusetts. And along suburban streets, most of the plants I see are … Continue reading "Natives"

“We are children of the Sun”: new exhibit honors Mexica Coyolxāuhqui stone

16 April 2023 at 17:00
A new exhibit in Mexico City honors the discovery of the stunning Coyolxāuhqui Stone, which tells the myth of the Mexica goddess of the moon. Continue reading “We are children of the Sun”: new exhibit honors Mexica Coyolxāuhqui stone at The Wild Hunt.

A Day of Mourning

16 April 2023 at 14:29
A sermon calling for the end to gun violence. The post A Day of Mourning appeared first on Colin Bossen.

The Art of Resistance

16 April 2023 at 12:30
Resistance to oppression takes many forms. Sometimes that form is art.

Weekly Bread #218

16 April 2023 at 12:01
Sometimes, amid what looks like rubble and decay, surprises can appear. Trails can be dusty, with fallen tree branches rotting and crumbling into the ground. In the rainy season moss, fungi, and lichen compose the most obvious cleaning crew in the forest. They even eat away at rock, turning large stones gradually into dirt. The […]

Some Zen Words for End Times

16 April 2023 at 10:46
  Some Zen Words for End Times James Ishmael Ford Today, the 21st day of the first month of the third season, in the 23rd year of Thutmose III’s reign, or as we may prefer to put it, the 16th of April, in the year 1457 before our common era (okay unless it was 1482 […]

Expanding Good

16 April 2023 at 05:00
“We often forget that there are creative ways of bringing about change in our communities and society at large. When Jesus suggests we love our enemies, he is imaginatively expanding our concept of what it means to be a good person.” -Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat What religious or spiritual lessons help you expand your … Continue reading Expanding Good

Breeding Tree Frogs and Robins

16 April 2023 at 11:01
Our first frog sighting in the pond yesterday, April 15! Much earlier than the last two years, when the first frogs came in June or July. It turned out to be a tree frog, rather than the green frogs that we’ve seen in prior years. We figured it out because in the afternoon, when my […]

At UALR

16 April 2023 at 08:59
I have another day of box making with students at the Windgate Center for Art and Design at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock. It is a beautiful facility with wood working being at the center of it all.  In the  meantime, this lovely state has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the US with a death rate of young mothers 10 times that of California. What an unbelievable shame that is! Our governor is more concerned about drag shows, the ease of getting guns and positioning herself for higher office than about the death of mothers. Go figure, please. Gun violence has become the highest cause of the death of children in the US. So between the death of mothers and of kids, we have a great deal of work to do and it appears that ...

The Lincoln Park Memorial Cemetery By Christell Victoria Roach—National Poetry Month 2023

16 April 2023 at 03:00
                                                            Christell Victoria Roach. No, not the Lincoln Park in Chicago which started out as a boggy burial ground for early settlers and now contains just one neglected mausoleum and the grave of a dubiously alleged Revolutionary War veteran.   No, Christell Victoria Roach is writing a about a boneyard in her hometown of Miami, Florida which seems as neglected and abused as Burr Oak Cemetery in Chicago suburban Alsip where bodies were dug up the burial plots resold, disposing of bones in a remote area ten years ago. Roach is an Emmy-nominated writer and performer from Miami. She is a 2022-2024 Wallace Stegner Fellow in Poetry at Stanford University. S...

More Information for Nashville Pride

15 April 2023 at 17:21
What we're doing at Nashville Pride | Ride Sharing | Hosting out of towners

Ecstasy and the Craft

15 April 2023 at 17:00
The core of Witchcraft has always been carnal in nature. It is rooted in the wisdom of both the land and the body, recognizing the physical world as the holy temple through which we worship the omnipresent divine, the indwelling consciousness within all things and places. It is this consciousness which we often deify, calling it Goddess or God or some other equally nebulous title meant to inspire a sense of awe, reverence, and mystery. Continue reading Ecstasy and the Craft at The Wild Hunt.

Camp

14 April 2023 at 23:12
Ngoc, Matt, and I are gearing up to offer a week of Ecojustice Camp here on the South Shore beginning August 14. I’m looking forward to translating the California Ecojustice Camp curriculum, which I helped develop, to southeastern Massachusetts. We still haven’t figured out how much we’re going to charge, or what ages we’re going … Continue reading "Camp"

All Ages Worship (16 April 2023)

15 April 2023 at 13:44
Please join us on Sunday (16 April 2023) at 11:00 AM for “Ya’ Know . . .  ?  We Don’t” 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 … Continue reading "All Ages Worship (16 April 2023)"

Upcoming Events Reminders for 15-16 April 2023 and Beyond

15 April 2023 at 13:34
Announcement of Special Congregational Meeting (16 April 2023) 2023 Pledge Drive — We Need Your Pledge Now

Children and Youth Religious Education Classes — 16 April 2023

15 April 2023 at 13:34
Children and youth will attend the worship service for the first 15-20 minutes and then are dismissed to their classes. We are now discussing peace, social justice, and the interdependent web and these ideas connect to our Unitarian Universalist faith. Elementary class with Ash McLain and Kevin Henry will be exploring what makes a family … Continue reading "Children and Youth Religious Education Classes — 16 April 2023"

Online Adult Religious Education — 16 April 2023

15 April 2023 at 13:01
Please join us on Sunday (16 April 2023) as we continue our new series in our our adult religious education class at 9:00 AM. Our adult religious education class is now a dual-platform class — meeting in person in the church social hall and also on Zoom. We have several persons in the adult religious … Continue reading "Online Adult Religious Education — 16 April 2023"
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