“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” -e e cummings Experience some spontaneous delight today. Yes, just go do it.

Heather Beasley Doyle Unitarian Universalists offer pastoral care to travelers to New Mexico.

There are a lot of places where fat liberation and disability liberation intersect in my life. Where size justice and…</p> The post Thin People Can Welcome Their Fat Friends appeared first on Taking Up Space.

Joanna Fontaine Crawford We are the hands and feet of love. And sometimes its fingernails, too. Continue reading "Fingernails as Faith Development"

2023 May – The Path of Creativity – Creative Conflicts  Welcome to our upstairs bathroom walls. The image to the left is the wall in the master bath and the wall to the right is from what used to be … Continue reading →

This is the most religiously diverse society in the history of humanity. Every religion deserves to be understood on its own terms, not just in terms of how it compares to the Protestant Christianity that still dominates the United States.

  Newton Minow as a 33 year old Federal Communications Commission Chair in 1951. Note— Newton Minow , President John F . Kennedy ’ s Federal Communications Commission ( FCC ) died last Saturday in Chicago just days before the 62nd anniversary of his famous speech .   What he must have made of the medium he chastised in his final days, especially the Fox News scandal . Some count it as one of the most important American speeches of the second half of the 20th Century right up there with Eisenhower ’ s Farewell Address, Kennedy ’ s Inaugural Address, and the most famous orations by Martin Luther King.   But it was not delivered by a towering political figure or a game changing visionary.   It was spoken by a semi-obscure bureau...

Taken with a Fuji X100V using Kevin Mullins’ Padilla recipe Just click on the photo to enlarge it

Stephen Covey, author of the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, once said: “Without trust we don’t truly collaborate, we merely coordinate or, at best, cooperate. It is trust that transforms a group of people into a team.” And we know from the work ... read more . The post May Theme: Trust & Vulnerability appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

The Jewish feast of Lag B'Omer began yesterday evening and with it renewed concerns that some celebrations are pagan in origin. Continue reading Lag B’Omer and concerns over paganism at The Wild Hunt.

What a delightful event organized by the Music Team. Eyes on the Pies had the dining room and bellies full of pizza, salad, and other delightful treats. Then bidding began in gusto for the sweet and savory pies, followed by a wonderful coffeehouse! Many thanks to ... read more . The post Co-Ministers’ Colloquy – May 9th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

This week in Religious Education we’ll have a Children’s Chapel for children in Kindergarten through 6th grade. Everyone may start the morning in the Great Hall for the first part of the service. After the Time for All Ages, the children in Kindergarten through 6th grade ... read more . The post Religious Education programming on 5/14 appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Diverse & Revolutionary UU Multicultural Ministries is hosting a public online worship service on May 11th at 8 pm Eastern Time. You can register here to learn more and to register to attend: https://druumm.wildapricot.org/event-5225905 The post DRUUMM online worship service May 11 at 8pm appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

This is a weekend-long social conference for UU Young Adults (18-35) and like-minded folk to socialize and build community. When: June 02, 7:00 PM – June 04, 9:00 AM Where: Fourth Universalist Society on the Upper West Side of NYC More info at https://www.concretejungle.social/. ... read more . The post Young Adult Con – CONcrete Jungle appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

                                        Singer Darlene Benton will be the featured soloist at the Juneteenth--Freedom Day Festival in Woodstock. Singer Darlene Benton will be the featured vocalist at the Juneteenth—Freedom Day Festival on historic Woodstock Square on Saturday, June 17 from 3 to 5:30 pm. Benton has been singing since the age of 4. Her roots have taken her to gospel and jazz. She has sung throughout the Chicagoland area at such notable venues as the Auditorium Theatre, the House of Blues, the Chicago Hilton, and the Hemmens Culture Center. While her vocals have been requested by such iconic gospel artists as Albertina Walker, her true love is leading and ministering to the hearts and souls of peop...

My co-worker asked me today about using A.I. as a resource in preaching. Great question. I did this once, and I don’t see myself doing it again, and here’s why: When I entered a bunch of my writing into ChatGPT in April 2023 and asked it to generate a sermon about stewardship of the earth, … Continue reading "AI And Sermon Prep"

Commensality. I introduced this word four weeks ago, on Easter, and I wanted to reflect about it with you further today. It’s from the Latin root for table. Commensality refers to the fact that who we take meals with, and how, is socially structured and recapitulates the overall social structure. I cited anthropologists Peter Farb and George Armelagos who wrote: “In all societies, both simple and complex, eating is the primary way of initiating and maintaining human relationships…. Once the anthropologist finds out where, when, and with whom the food is eaten, just about everything else can be inferred about the relations among the society’s members....To know what, where, how, when, and with whom the people eat is to know the ch...

“And in our search for peace, maybe we’ll finally see: even to question, truly, in an answer.” -Shelley Jackson Denham When have you been satisfied to question without needing an answer?

Kat McKim Deep collaborations between congregations offer mutual support, foster creativity. </p>

“What you produce is not necessarily always sacred, I realized, just because you think it’s sacred. What is sacred is the time that you spend working on the project, and what that time does to expand your imagination, and what … Continue reading →

I'm at Marc Adams School of Woodworking and am a bit frustrated when mistakes I've made put other people's work at risk. That makes this a good time for me to remind myself that our greatest learning takes place, not when things are going perfectly well, but when obstacles are faced and overcome. One of my students mentioned his need to make a wooden box for the ashes of a friend. This link is to a blog post I placed on the Fine Woodworking website in 2012 that describes the making of just such a box. https://www.finewoodworking.com/2012/05/09/making-a-crematory-urn-box-part-i The photo is from yesterday's class. Make, fix and create...

                                                                        A Canadian bottle of Searle's Enovid contraception tablets a/k/a The Pill. It’s hard to believe that only sixty three years ago today in 1960 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally approved marketing G. D. Searle Pharmaceutical Corporation ’ s Enovid as an oral contraceptive.   That makes May 9 sort of the birthday of The Pill.   Of course, its story goes back earlier.   Pioneering birth control advocate Margaret Sanger had long sought a safe and reliable form of contraception that women themselves could use and control unlike condoms.   In 1953 she brought her long-time associate and supporter Katharine McCo...

In this Week's Pagan Community Notes, Strega Nona gets USPS stamp, a State Representative in Connecticut is skeptical of exonerations, Witches in the UK send ritual support to King Charles, Sauron's butterfly (you read the right), a shocking Bath event, and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: May 8, 2023 at The Wild Hunt.

A sermon on the significance of the Rev. Robert Wedderburn, the first Unitarian minister of African descent. The post Suffering for Blasphemous Libel appeared first on Colin Bossen.

The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.” -Jacques Cousteau Where do you find wonder in nature?

A couple of weeks ago, The Verge published an article by David Pierce that asks the question, Can ActivityPub Save the Internet? As David Pierce points out in his article, the ActivityPub protocol has the potential for making social media more like email (in a good way). Email is an open protocol. If social media … Continue reading "A new way to do social media?"

                                   Antoine Lavoisier isolated, identified, and named oxygen. What with climate change deniers, anti-evolutionists, new earth enthusiasts,   anti-vaxers, and Trumpista zealots, a lot of scientists these days are feeling pretty put upon and threatened by politics.   But, believe me, it could be worse.   Ask Antoine Lavoisier . The French Aristocrat was indisputably the most famous and important scientist in the world.   He is rightfully considered the Father of Modern Chemistry and made major contributions to biology as well.   Most famously, he identified and named oxygen as essential to combustion.   His English contemporary, the theologian/philosopher/scientist Joseph Priestley ...

Have you ever  been bullied for any of these?  I recently finished listening to How To Be A Champion by Sarah Millican. The author narrated this biography. She is one of my favorite stand up comedians. I felt like a … Continue reading →

I vote we let the artists winthe ones covered in paint from their last attemptto smuggle across the beauty of a bowl of fruitthe 14-year-old rapper learning to spitthrowing life’s chaos on the rhythm wheeluncovering the shapes that live on after the next break I say we let the food bank volunteers winthe ones always carrying around their agendafor the meeting, waging campaignsto stock shelves with bread I would like to see the nurses extend their string of victoriesfrom the hospital bed to the nation’s boardroomsuntil we care for each other as if deathwere inevitable and mercy was the only […] The post Let the Artists Win appeared first on BeyondBelief.

…My point in the previous post was to deconstruct “covenant.” But why do we need to deconstruct “covenant”? Unitarian Universalists today love to talk about covenant as if it has a long history. I’m arguing that covenant was a mid-twentieth century invention by Conrad Wright and James Luther Adams. It does not have a long … Continue reading "Deconstructing “covenant,” pt. 2"

Unitarian Universalists talk a lot about “covenant.” We didn’t used to talk about covenant. As near as I can tell, our mild obsession with covenant came about during the merger of the Unitarians and the Universalists, a process which began in the 1950s and continued for years after the legal consolidation of the two groups … Continue reading "Deconstructing “covenant,” pt. 1"

SianLuc Heart returns to The Wild Hunt with an investigation into food taboos in ancient pagan cultures. Continue reading Religious diets and food taboos of ancient pagans at The Wild Hunt.

This is my presentation of my thesis project for my Master’s of Religious Leadership for Social Change at Starr King School for the Ministry. It has been an incredible labor of love and a healthy dose of tears and swear words over the last year, and I couldn’t be more proud of it. I hope […]

The whole human story is filled with various creation myths, including the ones we tell about our own selves. This week, a look at how we tell the story of who we are perpetually becoming.

In the 3rd grade, I wondered if your right eyeball fell out, would you be able to see it with your left eye. My teacher told me it was a very unladylike question. -Beth Murray (CLF) How can we encourage wonder rather than inhibit?

I didn’t hike this week, mainly because of attending an online conference the first half the week, some rain, roofers coming, and whatever. The conference was great! I will get back into hiking next week. My hiking pause wasn’t due to last week’s fall, however, although it will be awhile before I hike in shorts […]

The cherry trees and peach tree have no blossoms on them at all. The cherry trees had the buds that should open into blossoms, but when they opened, they were empty. At first I worried that I’d done something wrong. But on connecting with other gardeners in Maine I learned that many people are facing […]

The Old Poet reading his verse in 2016 at a Tree of Life Haystack's Coffee House and Open Mic. As a would-be poet , I am sometimes asked what creative process   I use.   The answer is, many different ones depending on topic and inspiration .   But no matter how original the conception is, most verse requires a process of refinement . Moss agate stones polished in a tumbler. How Poems Come to Be   An inauspicious lump of gravel             tossed in the tumbler,             turned, turned,             until gleaming smooth,             handsome moss agate             admired and mounted on a new bolo tie slide.   A thing of pride and beauty.   But how much more did it yearn   ...

This morning I'm headed for Marc Adams School of Woodworking in Indiana, for my annual weeklong class in box making. Weeks have gone into planning for this year's class. I'll attempt to post photos during the week, but blog posts from previous classes can be found on my blog:  http://wisdomofhands.blogspot.com Use the search block at upper left on the page and the search term, Marc Adams. Make, fix and create.

I’ve always had an American fascination with British royalty – a fascination that costs me nothing. After watching the coronation of King Charles III, the fascination is fading.

Clio Ajana celebrates the many meanings of the month of May. Continue reading Transformational Times Need Love, Joy, and Understanding at The Wild Hunt.

  SEX & ZENTwo Dharma Talks Investigating Zen Buddhism’s Third Grave Precept Zen in the Japanese tradition counts ten grave precepts. They’re the first ten precepts of the Mahayana Bramajala Sutra, and are used by both householders and clergy. The first five are identical, or nearly so, with the householder precepts given by Gautama Siddhartha, […]

Please join us on Sunday (7 May 2023) at 11:00 AM for “Defiance, Love, and Spirit” by Rev. Barbara Jarrell. We will be meeting in the sanctuary for this worship service.  Please join us in person at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 9449 Ellerbe Road, Shreveport LA  71106 if you are able to do so. Our … Continue reading "All Ages Worship (7 May 2023)"

Mother’s Day Poetry Service — 14 May 2023 (we need your inputs for this worship service) Building and Grounds Work Day (Saturday, 13 May 2023) 2023 Pledge Drive — We Need Your Pledge Now

For Mother’s Day 2023, we are featuring a service of poetry and songs — and we want your help. Whether you are a mom, a poet, a mom/poet, or  you know of a poem or song that your mom (or someone who was like a mom for you) loved, we would love to have you … Continue reading "Mother’s Day Poetry Service — 14 May 2023"

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 personal spiritual growth and how these ideas connect to our Unitarian Universalist faith. Elementary Class:  Toolbox of Faith, Part II — We started the year with Unitarian Universalist identity by exploring … Continue reading "Children and Youth Religious Education Classes — 7 May 2023"

Please join us on Sunday (7 May 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 and In-Person Adult Religious Education — 7 May 2023"

Our monthly building and grounds work day will happen next Saturday (13 May 2023) from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. We will have tasks available for all ages and abilities — inside and out. This is a great way to get to know others in your All Souls community while working side by side.  Please … Continue reading "Building and Grounds Work Day (Saturday, 13 May 2023)"

Please join us next Tuesday (9 May 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.

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 May 2023, we choose Shreveport Mutual Aid as our give-away-the-plate recipient. Shreveport Mutual Aid (website / Facebook) is “the act of a community becoming empowered to meet … Continue reading "Shreveport Mutual Aid — April 2023 Give-Away-The-Plate Recipient"

We seek our place in the world and the answers to our hearts’ deep questions. As we seek, may our hearts be open to unexpected answers. -from a chalice lighting by Julianne Lepp When was the last time you got an unexpected answer to a deep question?

Thanks to newsreels, dozens of photographers, and the chilling live radio coverage, for the first time Americans and people from around the world were witnesses to a great disaster.  The impact was profound.   On May 6, 1937 a dream died with a bang, along with 37 souls.   Up until then, the future of trans-oceanic and other mega-long distant air service looked like it belonged to lighter than aircraft.   Airplanes, it was thought, were too limited by fuel needs and lift capacity to economically serve this need.   They were alright for military use, which had been proven, and had a place supplementing good rail service in shorter distance travel, but the great dirigibles held the promise of connecting the world with fast, reliable p...

Please join us on Saturday (6 May 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 (6 May 2023)"

Many Buddhists recognize today as Vesak, a day which commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and death of Buddha. (This is a lunar holiday, so it doesn’t always fall on May 5.) And this will be the third year of a Vesak ceremony in the White House. (Nicely timed this year to lead off Asian and Pacific … Continue reading "Vesak in the White House"

From the novel Second Sister by Chan Ho-Kei, a native Hong Konger. The novel is set in Hong Kong in the year 2014, and follows the adventures of Au Nga-Yee as she tries to find out why her sister Siu-Man committed suicide by jumping from the window of their apartment. Without spoiling things for you, … Continue reading "The meaning of justice"

Today is the National Day of Prayer. Let me tell you a little bit about Unitarian Universalist (UU) views on prayer. Back in 1997, I was on the Pamphlet Commission for the Unitarian Universalist Association. We were updating an old pamphlet titled “UU Views on Prayer.” We were reviewing a collection of excellent brief statements … Continue reading "Not me"

In responding to recent attacks on trans and nonbinary+ people, the UUA calls out the dangerous anti-democratic practices being used to silence dissent. We pledge our continued commitment to protect peoples' right to feel safe expressing their identity and to defend democratic institutions. Continue reading "Trans, Nonbinary+ Lives and Democracy are at Risk: UUs Unequivocally Defend Justice"

Lyonel Perabo argues for why reading can't be an end unto itself for true development in the Pagan world. Continue reading Opinion: Against Reading at The Wild Hunt.

Jeff Milchen As voters successfully fight repressive laws, more GOP legislatures attempt to stifle citizen initiatives.

Back in June of 2021 I wrote this about nightly winter and spring walks with Socks, my dog: “Each night when the clouds pulled back Orion appeared a little more toward the West. Always he walked with his dog, Sirius, as I walked with mine. Before him was Arigua, the great boar (I have always […]

UU minister Rev. Tony Fisher narrates his experience with Florida’s Build a New World March

When I first began exploring career possibilities in back high school, I decided pretty quickly that I wanted to work in publishing. For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a children’s author, but even back then, the practical side of me knew I would also need to find a day job I was equally passionate about to support myself. Considering my lifelong obsession with books, publishing was the obvious choice! 

I have training in music composition and have written original works for ensembles large and small. However, it might be more precise to call me an arranger. While I can write something original if needed, my heart is in arranging. … Continue reading →

“They say I must be one of the wonders, God’s own creation. And as far as they see, they can offer no explanation.” -Natalie Merchant What is something inexplicable that you wonder about?

Advertising like this promotes stereotypes of Mexican culture and promotes party-til-you-puke celebrations by Americans. Note:  This is at least the 11th year I have run essentially the same post with a little tinkering on the margins. I keep running it because the same shit happens again every year and my Mexican and Chicano friends keeps asking me to bring it back. Today is, as every hearty partyer will tell you, is Cinco de Mayo.  In the U.S. it has become kind of second St. Patrick’s Day decked out in sombreros and serapes instead of emerald green, toasted to with Coronas with lime and shots of tequila instead of Guinness and Jamison’s, and laid out with two-for-one taco deals instead of corn beef and cabbage.  It is celebrate...

A Prayer For Abundant, Imperfect Enoughness, Week of May 8, 2023 Lover of Imperfection, Still-Becoming, Not-Yet, Still-Enough, hold us and encourage us to hold each other tenderly, questioning the sources and power accrual behind expectations to do more than we have energy to do, to not experience illness, impairment, or...

A Silver Denarius of Severus Alexander (Rome, 226 AD) showing Annona with corn-ears & cornucopiae, modius at foot 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—    A few weeks ago some of you may have read reports about an announcement made by the current Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and Member of Parliament for South East Cambridgeshire, Lucy Frazer, that, on Coronation Day, 3,800 seats were to be made available in front of Buckingham Palace in a specially built grandstand. Frazer told us that these seats were to be offered to military veterans ...

Brazil's President Lula da Silva or simply Lula announced that his government has recognized six new Indigenous reserves. Continue reading Brazil expands Amazon protection by recognizing 6 Indigenous areas at The Wild Hunt.

A series on UUSC’s partners in Eastern Europe.

Sunday, May 7   Explorations Service: Creativity Our ministerial theme for the month of May is  Creativity. Join us this Sunday, May 7th, for an experiential exploration of the theme. We will begin worship together in the Sanctuary and then divide into smaller groups for Exploration activities. The choices will be: Creative Exploration through Art: Make a   [ … ] The post Sunday, May 7 ~ Explorations Service: Creativity ~ 10:30 a.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

I have always loved a good mystery. As a child, I devoured mystery novels, fascinated to see how the unsolved questions would be answered. As an adult, I revel in questions with no provable answers. It is fun to think “what if,” and “maybe” without knowing. -Michael Tino (CLF) Make up a story to answer … Continue reading Mystery

UUSC is proud to be part of the UU@UN Office, which helps advance human rights at the United Nations.

John Filo's Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of 14 year-old Florida runaway Mary Ann Vecchio kneeling over the body of Jeffrey Miller. Note —May 4th is one of those dates that stop us in our tracks when they roll around each year.   At least it does for an ageing generation who were young and radical fifty-three years ago.   When the Ohio National Guard opened fire on campus anti-war protestors at Kent State University killing four and injuring several it was a shock of vulnerability for privileged White kids flirting with revolution.   Black students, although outraged, were not at all shocked by killings at Jackson State University in Mississippi days later. If you are a member of subsequent generations, the date may have no mean...

Hustle where it’s important. Chill where it’s not. Accept reality, especially the reality that rest is a necessity. You get to decide what’s important. And then order your life to show that it really is.

In her autobiography, How To Be Champion by comedian Sarah Millican, she weaves threads of her life into a funny historical perspective on the person she is today. She is funny, irreverent, and timely.  Chapter 37 is about an online … Continue reading →

Two discoveries, one in Italy and the other in Spain, shed some understanding on ancient cultures and how their gods moved about and were represented in art. Continue reading Two discoveries in the Mediterranean shed light on ancient cultures and gods at The Wild Hunt.

I’m a day late in celebrating International Working People’s Day, the real Labor Day that’s celebrated pretty much everywhere in the world except in the U.S. My only excuse is that both my personal life and my professional life are overly full these past few weeks. My day-late celebration will include reading UU Patrick Murfin’s … Continue reading "The May Day that mostly doesn’t get celebrated in UU congregations"

Anna Bethea , Janice Marie Johnson , Carey McDonald New online hub will offer resources, support for dismantling oppression.

Today in the wood shop at the Clear Spring School we made more boats. In the meantime, others share my concerns that Artificial Intelligence, AI, will be used for purposes that will be intended to destroy the fabric of our communities and our relationship to truth. The following link is to an essay by Thomas Friedman: https://www.nytimes.com/.../ai-tech-climate-change.html... I offer this simple truth–– That if bad things are possible to do, there are folks damaged enough to do them. I can offer a number of examples that you'll find throughout history as well as in the present day. I have no doubt that there will be good things coming from AI but we must make certain that young people are engaged in the creation of useful beauty in s...

Today while walking in the Attleboro Springs Audubon Sanctuary, I saw Jacks-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) in bloom. The dramatic striped spathe shelters a spadix on which the flowers are born. This is one of my favorite native flowers — we used to grow them when we lived in the rental share in Concord center — and … Continue reading "Jack-in-the-pulpit"

Earlier this week, I wrote about three different pathways of creativity: inspiration, aspiration and perspiration.  I want to give an example of what I think are the two ends of the spectrum. Let’s start with perspiration, probably the kind of … Continue reading →

Compassion for Campers volunteers with supplies at Willow Crystal Lake. Warm weather is bringing more unhoused people in McHenry who need camping supplies, survival gear, and essential items.   At Compassion for Campers’ last distribution on April 21 we served the most individuals in a year including record numbers of first timers. Compassion for Campers (C4C), the volunteer organization that serves the homeless, unhoused, and underhoused, meets at the Community Resource Days on the first and third Friday of every month from 10 am to 2 pm. C4C is one of over 25 agencies who meet at the Willow Friendship Center, 100 South Main Street, Crystal Lake to serve the unhoused and at-risk community.   Our next distributions are on Friday May ...

For the wonder and inspiration We seek from sun and stars And all the lights of the heavens We light this chalice. – Cynthia Landrum Gaze into the night sky tonight with wonder.

Jennifer Hundley-Batts The miracle of grace is available to us even when it has been left untended. Continue reading "The Uncovering"

  The first ever McHenry County celebration of Juneteenth will be held on historic Woodstock Square on Saturday, June 17 from 3 to 5:30 pm.   Juneteenth—Freedom Day is organized by Gloria Van Hof, a McHenry County Board member,   noted Underground Railroad historian, and long-time activist along with other community leaders.                          Gloria Van Hof, founder and host of Junteenth--Freedom day, McHenry County's first celebration of the event. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the date when slaves in Galveston, Texas, who had been cut off from news of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 when the Union took control of the length of the Mississippi River, first heard that they had been freed from an ...

Thanks to all the UU congregations and communities who send in applications for Chalice Lighter Grants!  We had so much interest, and so many great projects, that the Mountain Desert District Board decided to more than double the funds.  We ended up fulfilling grants from 12 congregations/communities totaling almost $63,000

In this week's Pagan Community Notes: Heartland Pagan Festival announces last season, FaerieCon apparently ends, witchfinder gets surprise, and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: May 1, 2023 at The Wild Hunt.

Yes, this is the same site you’ve come to know and love – full of hymns and other of my personal musings – but with a new look and some new features! The navigation has moved to the top – and once there, you’ll see that the indexes and characteristic searches for hymns have improved. […]

Yes, this is the same site you’ve come to know and love – full of hymns and other of my personal musings – but with a new look and some new features! The navigation has moved to the top – and once there, you’ll see that the indexes and characteristic searches for hymns have improved. […]

Biden promised to be a climate president – yet under his watch, the U.S. continues to be the biggest producer of oil and gas in the world. In the first few years of his term, he approved more lease sales for new oil and gas drilling on federal lands and waters than Trump. And his administration has approved new oil and gas projects, like the Willow oil drilling project in Alaska and multiple oil and gas export terminals in the Gulf. Global scientists have been abundantly clear – we cannot avoid the very worst impacts of the climate crisis if we allow for any more fossil development. UUs, it’s time to show up!   This June, People vs. Fossil Fuels are mobilizing to turn up the heat and make Biden take real climate action – by end...

Yes, this is the same site you’ve come to know and love – full of hymns and other of my personal musings – but with a new look and some new features! The navigation has moved to the top – and once there, you’ll see that the indexes and characteristic searches for hymns have improved. […]

 I and others have become increasingly concerned about what's called AI or artificial intelligence. Through programs like Chatbot GPT, AI can spew language, writing Shakespearian sonnets faster than you can spell Jackie Robinson. But what you get from the programs is BS. In fact, the more BS that's out there, the easier it becomes to fictionalize reality, and fool the pubic. AI gets even worse when it's creating videos and images intended to distort our understanding of reality. When how-to writers write, our success is based not on being able to convince others to think what we think but to empower others to succeed in what we do, and we dare not lead others astray, as they will test what we've demonstrated in their own hands and haunt...

As a child, I wondered about a lot of things. As a 4-year-old, I wondered how sound got onto an LP record album. I was convinced that if I wrote words on the record, the needle would graze over my letters, and I would be able to hear the word spoken over and over, as … Continue reading Mess

        The King James Bible and the Power of a Dreaming God James Ishmael Ford A bit of history. King James (the sixth of Scotland and first of England) not long crowned, planned a conference for November, 1603, to discuss sundry matters involving the relatively new church of which he was now […]