Note — This is becoming my default Mothers’ Day post.   A version first appeared in August 2015. My wife, Kathy , was noodling around on   Ancestry . com and discovered that my birth mother, Margaret High, died in June 2014 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. She was 91 years old. I never had any contact with her and only discovered her identity through the diligent research by my late brother’s ex-wife Arlene Brennan a few years ago.  Bustling downtown Twin Bridges, Montana about the year of my birth.  Margaret High may have met my birth father some Saturday night at the bar on the left.  Who knows? Margaret High came from a pioneering Montana ranching family in aptly named Twin Bridges in the remote high country of the Missouri Brakes....

Our Gods are virtuous and They rarely ask us to do things that would violate our ethics. They often ask us to do things that are uncomfortable, difficult, or dangerous. We need to learn to tell the difference.

  Mary Baker Eddy and America’s Last Witchcraft Trial  Today, the 14th of May, might be counted as a minor religious holiday of some sort. I try to note it when it rolls around. It was, as it happens, on this day, in 1878, that the last trial on a charge of witchcraft was initiated […]

The best I can do, in my spells, is to throw myself towards the chaotic overlap of symbols that I like. I try to aim for the area where, even if I miss, I will enjoy the consequences. Continue reading Crabapple at The Wild Hunt.

  LIKE A SHOT OF HEROIN Jack Kerouac on Buddhist meditation Complex, by turns wonderful and awful, the beat writer Jack Kerouac is one of the handful of people responsible for bringing Zen into the popular English speaking imagination. Any number of people have struggled to contextualize Kerouac’s beatnik Buddhism. Some with more success than […]

The spring/summer issue of the Harvard Divinity School Bulletin features a number of essays on ecological spiritualities. I turned first to the essay by Vanessa Chakour titled “Rethinking Weeds.” As someone deeply interested in urban and suburban ecology, I was curious to see how someone might reassess the presence of weeds. Unfortunately, the article starts … Continue reading "“Rethinking Weeds”"

“Sponges grow in the ocean. That just kills me. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be if that didn’t happen.” – Steven Wright What is a ridiculous question you sometimes wonder about?

The spring/summer issue of the Harvard Divinity School Bulletin features essays on ecological spiritualities. Dan MacKanan, the Ralph Waldo Emerson Senior Lecturer in Divinity, provides the introduction, “Making a Space of ‘Alternative Spiritualites’,” saying in part: “When the Divinity School committed to offering a fully multireligious master of divinity curriculum about 20 years ago, we … Continue reading "Ecospirituality at Harvard"

Fenceposts (“priests of stillness”) standing alongside Kirby Creek, Essex, in the summer of 2020 (click to enlarge) 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— As many of you will know, this coming week, the church where I am minister is to host a two-day event on mindfulness being offered by a number of Zen Buddhist monastics from Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village community in France. And then, the following week, my own meditation teacher, a Higashi-Hongan-ji, Jodo Shinshu priest now living in New York, Miki Nakura sensei, will be visiting me, and he has kindl...

Mother's Day founder Anna Jarvis, right, and her own mother and inspiration, left.   The celebration of Mother’s Day as we know it now is generally credited to Anna Marie Jarvis in memory of her mother, who died on May 9, 1905.   The first commemorative service was held at the Methodist Church in Grafton , West Virginia where Jarvis’s mother had been a Sunday school teacher 116 years ago today on May 12, 1907.   The following year on May 10 the church, at Jarvis’s urging, expanded the service to include honoring all mothers and Jarvis’s friend, Philadelphia merchant prince John Wanamaker conducted a public observance in the auditorium of this store.   Jarvis tirelessly dedicated herself to spreading the observance.   She wro...

Join us on Sunday (14 May 2023) at 11:00 AM as members and friends of All Souls share original works and the works of favorite poets that have connections to the mothers and others who have filled that kind of role in their lives or to their own experience as mothers and children. Readers will … Continue reading "All Ages Worship (14 May 2023)"

Building and Grounds Work Day (Saturday, 13 May 2023) Spring Congregational Meeting — Sunday, 28 May 2023 2023 Pledge Drive — We Need Your Pledge Now

From:  Board Secretary Rovena Windsor To: All Members, Inactive Members, and Friends In accordance with the Bylaws of our church I hereby announce that All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church will hold a Congregational Meeting on Sunday (28 May 2023) at 12:00 PM or immediately following the 11:00 AM worship service in the sanctuary and via … Continue reading "Spring Congregational Meeting — Sunday, 28 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 — 14 May 2023"

Please join us on Sunday (14 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 will take a quick look at progress (or the lack thereof) on … Continue reading "Online and In-Person Adult Religious Education — 14 May 2023"

Please join us next Tuesday (16 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.

Please join us on Saturday (13 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 (13 May 2023)"

The COP27 Loss and Damage Fund must learn from past initiatives and prioritize supporting migration decisions, long-term assistance, and community-specific needs for successful climate action.

If a corporation has the same constitutional rights as an individual, why couldn’t an ecosystem? Continue reading Opinion: the Rights of Nature – Securing Personhood for All of Us at The Wild Hunt.

Vibe check. Or should we say mind check? Although May 11 was declared the end of the COVID-19 health emergency, we can’t move on like the pandemic didn’t happen. Lockdown overturned the societal rock to expose many issues, including mental health. And isolation wasn’t the only thing that went at the psyche nationwide. What happens in our surroundings—housing, neighborhoods and cities, the R word—is just as important to track as what goes on in the mind. Which is why we’re recommending this handful of titles from our catalog for Mental Health Awareness Month.

 Today I completed a 5 day class at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking. I had 15 students in the class with each having made between six to eight boxes. I suspect the total number would be a record.  We all had fun. I'll be headed home in the morning, grateful for a very nice week. Make, fix and create.   Assist others in learning likewise.

When I was a scientist feeling called to the minister, a friend once asked me about the leap between the two. It occurred to me that as a scientist, I mostly asked “how” and as a minister, I mostly ask “why.”  -Michael Tino (CLF) What are the kinds of questions you find yourself asking today?

Focused as I am on my favorite obscure corners of popular culture, I usually miss the really big worldwide trends. So I was completely unaware of The Wiggles until I read about them on a science fiction fandom blog. If you too have remained blissfully unaware of The Wiggles, they’re an Australian band that released … Continue reading "A cultural phenomenon"

I am currently listening to a book entitled, “The Good Life”, written by Robert Wagner, MD and Marc Shulz, PhD. I heard about the book on NPR. It covers the longest Harvard study on happiness and spans over 80 years … Continue reading →

A Prayer for Rest Gracious Love, may we rest. May we have spaciousness to rest in dappled or deep shade on a hot day, with a nice breeze, and on a cool day in a pool of warming sun. May we have spaciousness to rest from persistent violence and aggressions...

A Prayer for Mothers' Day 2023 Mother-Parent of All, we give thanks for this day and for being birthed into being in our amazing diversity of expression, culture, movement, perception, thinking, reverence, and feelings. There are so many ways of being a person and we all come to being a...

                                                     Yogi Berra in 1953. Note —This is an experiment.   The following blog post on Yogi Berra for his birthday was not written by you reliable scribe but created, including the title, by the Artificial Intelligence (AI) program AI Article Writer 4.0.   I have not edited it in any way.   What say you?   Should the Old Man turn over his posts to this electronic gizmo, which undoubtedly contains fewer spelling errors and typos,   or should he continue to bang out stuff the old fashion way? Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra was an American professional baseball catcher, coach, and manager. He was born on May 12, 1925, in St. Louis, Missouri. Yogi Berra was o...

Auroras are becoming more frequent as we enter the peak of the 11-year sunspot cycle. An event tonight may result in the aurora borealis being visible as far south as southern Oregon and northern California, Denver, Kansas City, and Cincinnati as well as the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  Continue reading Auroras are becoming more frequent at The Wild Hunt.

                             Q: What’s the difference between cats and dogs? A: Dogs look at people and say, “They feed us. They give us shelter. They take care of our every need. They must be gods.” Cats look at people and say, “They feed us. They give us shelter. They take care of our every need. We must be gods.” In the 19th century Thomas Starr King was asked to describe the differences between the two denominations Unitarianism and Universalism. He replied, “Universalists believe that God is too good to damn them to hell forever. Unitarians believe they are too good to be damned.” And so we might say that Unitarians are cats and Universalists are dogs. As I mentioned earlier, I have been conte...

           Are you off-center?   I mean off balance internally and/or off balance between your inside and the outside world.   Sometimes I feel I am.   Sometimes I know I am.   Sometimes I am, but I don’t know it.        Near the end of my career as a psychotherapist—this was over 25 years ago-- I noticed some things about myself.   I was more tired than usual during work hours, finding myself even getting sleepy between clients.   I wasn’t as interested in my work.   Before that time, I attended many Continuing Education programs, always interested in learning more, talking with colleagues about various techniques, strategies, and client types, and taking on clients with novel conditions—many of whom other ...

             I have learned a little about myself as I have traveled this life.   One of the important lessons I have learned is that if I don’t set something, even an important something, as a priority and carve out specific time just especially for it, I will get distracted and will not make time for it in my life.   Does that resonate with you?             Back when I was new to ministry, serving Peoples Church Unitarian Universalist in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, I felt something stirring in my heart and soul.   I wasn’t clear what it was and I was prepared to ignore that restlessness, and just keep doing what I was doing.   That would have been easy.   But I was also aware that stirrings if ignored might leak...

The Trinity Foundation, a religious watchdog organization, recently released its list of “100 Highly Paid Christian Ministry Executives.” The Foundation based their salary information on IRS Form 990. However, since churches, synagogues, and mosques aren’t required to file Form 990, they don’t have to provide any salary information. Thus, highly paid clergy like Joel Osteen … Continue reading "Clearly I’m in the wrong job"

I. A Prayer For All Who Mother We reflect in thanksgiving this day for all those whose lives have nurtured ours.The life-giving onesWho heal with their presenceWho listen in sympathyWho give wise advice … but only when asked for it.We are grateful for all those who have mothered usWho have held us gently in times … Continue reading "Two Mothers Day Prayers"

The Ride/Walk to Leave a Light On will return to Woodstock, Illinois for the third year on Friday, June 16.   Folks will gather on Woodstock Square beginning at 7:30 pm with the ride starting in the gloaming at 8:40. The event is presented by Material Things Artisan Market on the Woodstock Square Historic District to support our local community organizations—CASA of McHenry County, Live4Lali, Woodstock Pride, Illinois Migrant Council, Stairway to Prosperity, The Break, and Compassion 4 Campers by purchasing colored light strings that correspond with each organization. All proceeds go to them. Each string is $9.00 Lights: Purple -Live4Lali Gold -Crystal Lake "The Break" White - Illinois Migrant Council Multi Color - Woodstock Pride Red...

“Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.” -Khalil Gibran Read a poem that makes you wonder today.

I walk through the orchard and marvel at the beauty of violets which have naturalized all over the ground. Dandelions offer a scatter of yellow along with a few daffodils, and clover has spread over the beds and paths in a swath of green. Chives and oregano and thyme are coming up in their clumps. […]

I recently heard an interview with National Public Radio journalist Mary Louise Kelly about her new memoir as a world renowned journalist and mother. Kelly told of an incident that occurred during a public forum some years ago. A woman … Continue reading →

In Chicago regular Cavalry escorted mail trains through strike lines with additional heavily armed troops mounted on the engine and the tops of cars. On May 11, 1894 one of the greatest battles in American labor history erupted as employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company walked off of their jobs to protest wage cuts.   When Eugene V . Debs and the American Railway Union took up their cause with a national boycott of trains with Pullman cars attached, the strike became a nationwide event.   National Guard and Federal troops were called in to suppress the strike and “move the mails.” 1894 was the nadir of one of those devastating financial panics that erupted with regularity in the 19th Century.   Just outside of Chicago George P...

    God as a Zen Koan or Huatou James Ishmael Ford When I am silent, I fall into the place where everything is music. Rumi I notice that today, May 10th, is one of the days that Job of the Book of Job is celebrated. Job is one of my favorite figures in the […]

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom released its annual report last week noting that the conditions for religious freedom are “worsening” around the world.  Continue reading Religious Freedom Commission releases 2023 report of “worsening” world at The Wild Hunt.

Before the landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade made abortion legal across the United States, clergy from a wide variety of religious traditions developed a coordinated, skilled, responsive underground network that supported people experiencing "problem pregnancies" to access abortion care from trustworthy doctors and medical professionals. This network of more than 1400 clergy and hundreds of providers -- which included many Unitarian Universalists -- helped hundreds of thousands of people access safe abortions before the Roe decision. Now, we look back at the Clergy Consultation Service to learn so we can prepare and coordinate to take risks again for reproductive justice. Let's learn our history to plan for our future. Ready to Take Ac...

By Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma | One of the most famous verses in the Kural is about the art of learning. What the poet Tiruvalluvar said in Tamil more than fifteen centuries ago is as relevant now as ever: 391: Faultlessly study what is to be studied—then fit All that you’ve studied I’ve always been struck by how Tiruvalluvar not only urges us to learn fully, leaving out nothing, but also inspires us to bring our lives and our studies into harmony.

“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"