Frithjof Schuon was born in Basel, Switzerland, on this day, the 18th of June, in 1907. His mother was a francophone Alsatian while his father was German Swiss. His father, Paul was a concert violinist, and the family was a center of music, literature, and spirituality. The Schuon’s were progressive Catholics. From […]

João Zeferino da Costa (1840–1916) The widow’s mite A short  “ thought for the day” offered to the Cambridge Unitarian Church as part of the Sunday Service of Mindful   Meditation  (Click on this link to hear a recorded version of the following piece) —o0o— In order properly to address any particular problem we are experiencing it’s necessary first to see, and then name what it actually is in the most appropriate fashion possible.  If we see some problem and inappropriately name it, then the problem may not be addressed as well as it might, and the original transgression of using an inappropriate name will then simply help to create a further proliferation of words that only serves to make the original transgression o...

Drawing six leaves takes six times as long, but sometimes I just can’t resist the shape of a whole twig of them falling like this. And I’m on vacation. Tomorrow we go to the Art Institute of Chicago, the home of so many works of art that I have seen only in tiny little reproductions […]

Sacred promises we make to one another can become a covenant. A covenant is only as good as the integrity of the people entering into it–and their willingness to engage in repair when the covenant is broken. How do you repair covenant when it is broken?

  Who do you admire?  I have a friend named Kevan who plays guitar.  In the summertime, we get together and strum, occasionally writing new tunes for the instrument.  What I admire about Kevan is his focus and concentration.  His lifelong career was in law enforcement, special weapons and tactics.  Because he is fluent in Spanish, he still sometimes teaches "Spanish for Cops" to make a little money even in retirement.  But his real ambition, at this stage of life, is to be a street musician, a busker.  He wants to sit on the corner and play the blues for tips.   Kevan is totally devoted to this dream.  He has a strict practice routine.  He attends music camps for songwriting.  He studies music theory.  Whereas I have all ki...

I have a class with ESSA tomorrow making spoon carving knives. We'll use both the wood shop and the metals studio to do it with 8 students. In the meantime I've been practicing and learning with sketchup, to create new box designs. This box is a pen and ink box to hold both a bottle of ink and two pens. There's a compartment below the pen tray for additional necessaries. Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning likewise.

Studying Witchcraft taught me that I am my own temple, my own deity, my guardian, my healer, my savior, that the elements live in me, and that I’m part of a planet that vibrates with every beat of my heart. Whether through Witchcraft or any other spiritual path, if each person learned the same thing, it would be easier to accept the differences that make the world such a fascinating place instead of seeing them as a danger, a social cancer. Continue reading Column: Honoring the Temples of Diversity at The Wild Hunt.

Estudiar brujería me enseñó que yo soy mi propio templo, mi propia deidad, mi guardián, mi sanador, salvador, que los elementos viven en mí, y que soy parte de un planeta que vibra con cada latido de mi corazón. Sea por medio de la brujería o cualquier otro camino espiritual, si cada persona aprendiera lo mismo, sería más fácil aceptar las diferencias que hacen del mundo un lugar tan fascinante en vez de verlas como un peligro, un cáncer social. Continue reading Columna: Honrando los Templos de la Diversidad at The Wild Hunt.

        Today, the 17th of June, is celebrated in the Anglican communion as a feast for St Botwulf of Thorney. His feast is celebrated by other Western Christian communions as well, although on other dates. Details of his life are at best sketchy, most of what we know comes from the Anglo-Saxon […]

Please join us on Saturday (18 June 2022) 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. The group is free and open to all. For more information, contact Larry … Continue reading "Meditation with Larry Androes (18 June 2022)"

I am spending the first two weeks of my archival research time at Harris Manchester College. It is part of the University of Oxford. It was originally founded as an institution to train Unitarian ministers, but as the fortunes of British Unitarianism have declined so has its connection with the movement. Right now, there are […]

Prayer for the Week of June 19, 2022 Beloved, may I have the courage of the ancestors who said “no more” to injustice and resisted the wheels of power rolling over them. May I have the resilience of ancestors who whispered “we will create a way” when there was no...

Colonial Militia under Col. John Stark repelled the first British assault against their hastily thrown up defenses on the left of Breed's Hill. The Battle of Bunker Hill is so famous that the most historically illiterate Americans—and there are a lot of them—have at least heard of it and can probably figure out that it was fought during the Revolutionary War.  Many may recall from High School or an old Peabody and Sherman cartoon that an orderwas issued—“Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes.”  Whatever that meant.  And most will assume it was a great American victory for George Washington.  Almost all of that would be wrong or misunderstood.  The real story is more complex and interesting. By mid-June 1775 ...

Honesty is a core part if integrity. It is also squishy for some people–do we always have to tell the whole truth in order to be honest? What are the limits of honesty for you?

Llewellyn Worldwide takes the lion's share of winners at this year's Coalition of Visionary Resources (COVR) Awards. Continue reading Coalition of Visionary Resources Awards winners announced at The Wild Hunt.

Independence Day is really on June 19, not July 4.

Community leader, researcher, author, lecturer, and historian Gloria Van Hof will offer Juneteenth:  A Day of Jubilee , on Monday, June 20from 7 to 8:30 pm via Zoom.  The presentationis free to the public but voluntary contributions to Compassion for Campers, the program the supplies survival needs to the McHenry County unhoused population,are encouraged. Van Hof said, “ For decades, Juneteenth was the best kept secret south of the Mason Dixon Line. Only a small number of people knew about the holiday and most of them were from the South.  You will learn how the true story of Juneteenth became an American story and an international celebration.” She grew up in the South and is the great-great granddaughter of slaves, and will tel...

This is a weeping willow leaf, and its scientific name is Salix babylonica. That has to be a reference to the beginning of Psalm 137, right?: “By the waters of Babylon, we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.” The willow may weep, but it’s hard to be sad when you’re looking at one, or […]

Long-time friend JB (no, not that JB, this JB) just reminded me that on June 17, 1972, 50 years ago this Saturday, undercover police arrived at the Watergate Complex to investigate a possible break-in. The police arrested five guys wiretapping and burglarizing the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee there. These five hapless idiots actually … Continue reading "Happy Watergate Day"

The first of the three core values of the United States Air Force is “integrity first.” Senior Master Sgt. Paul Yecke writes of this, “None of us are born with integrity, nor can we obtain integrity with a few well-placed words or actions. Integrity is the never-ending pursuit of honesty.” How can integrity become a … Continue reading “Integrity First”

        A student of the intimate way asked Zhaozhou, “Why did Bodhidharma come from the West? Zhaozhou replied, “The Cypress Tree in the Garden. Gateless Gate, case 37 I cannot say what a treat it was when I was offered the chance to review a new book from a California based publisher, […]

By Eboo Patel | Do you remember the first demonstration that your mother and I took you to? It was the fifty-year commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s march through the South Side neighborhood of Marquette Park. Do you know what King endured that day? Five thousand people lined the streets of the neighborhood to scream racist slurs and throw bottles and bricks at King and a few hundred peaceful marchers.

Sunday, June 19, 10:30 a.m. Coming Down the Mountain Led by Guest Preacher Francesca Cipriani   We will hear the story of a young woman who hunts an unusual and powerful being with her grandmother. We will explore what this story can teach us about what we need from others and what we must do on our   [ … ] The post Sunday, June 19 ~ Coming Down the Mountain ~ 10:30 a.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

Climate forced displacement is on the news every day.  Most recently, the fires in New Mexico have displaced up to 18,000 people in the largest wildfire in the state’s history.  The Hermit’s Peak and Canyon Calf fires are only about 65% contained; the true impacts are hard to gauge, and it will take years to recover.    Climate disasters will challenge every community.  How can UUs prepare?  How can we center justice in our response?  How can our congregations be beacons of hope in these trying times?   Here are two things you can do right now:   Check out the recording of Fostering Local Climate Resilience through Disaster Response and Community Care, featuring Rev. Karen Hutt from the UU Trauma Response Ministry; Halcyo...

Nathan Ryan We have a holy obligation to bring about paradise on this earth; each generation helps us do that. Continue reading "Our Great Calling"

Jail Brakers , the program that offers support and services to the familiesof incarcerated individuals, and the experts at Prairie State Legal Services are offering a special sealing and expungement of cannabis records and convictions presentation at Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 5603 Bull Valley Road in McHenrythis Saturday June 18 from 5 to 7 pm. After the State of Illinois legalized recreational use of cannabis—marijuana—the Legislature passed an automatic expungement of the recordsof those convicted of simple possession of small amountsof the drug.  Many others, however, convicted of possession of larger quantities and/or saleand distribution are required to actively petition to have their records removed.  ...

Bless the fathers, made by choice, adoption, marriage, neighborhood, extended kinship, and blood Bless the fathers, however they are gendered, the ones who nurture gardens of wonder and hard work The ones who nurture families of enoughness and generous laughter The ones who are still figuring this whole fatherhood thing...

Devotional artwork is a tangible reminder of the spiritual presence of our Gods. It gives us a clear focus for meditation, contemplation, and worship. This new statue of the Morrigan is a meaningful, powerful, and beautiful depiction of the Great Queen.

When the world gets scary, the comfort of home becomes even more important. We need places where we can let our guard down – where the hypervigilance so many of us adopted during the pandemic can ease a little bit. For a lot of us, relaxing has become difficult. Devices that keep us connected to […] The post Threshold Magick for Troubled Times appeared first on Nature's Sacred Journey.

Part of maintaining personal integrity is keeping the promises we make to others. Sometimes, this is a challenge. When have you felt challenged to keep a promise?  

        At this moment in my life, I suffer from an abundance of offers of free books. Well, not actually free. The cost is a promise to review it. Mostly I decline these offers. The truth is the stack of books I want to read for my purposes is dangerously high. And […]

Imagine you walk each day from the backdoor to the outhouse, and keep the path well worn. Grass and loose stones are knocked unceremoniously from the path by the movement of your feet, and weeds are kept clear by the same effect. If you've been away from home for the summer you'll have found the weeds grown up in your absence and the journey to and from may take greater effort. You may need a weed-whacker to restore the path. But when the weeds are cut back, there again you'll find your well-worn path. The same applies in the use of tools as repeated use builds neural pathways to and from the brain. Let the tool fall into disuse for a time and when you pick it up again, it may feel a bit awkward at first, but the comfort of the grip will...

Taken with a Fujifilm X100F Just click on the photo to enlarge it   One of the places I most often find myself walking to (in all seasons of the year) is Grantchester, and the most pleasant (and iconic) route there is that which takes you by the River Cam through Grantchester Meadows. In my very early teens, and long before I knew Grantchester Meadows first-hand, it was already part of my own inner landscape thanks to Roger Water’s song of the same name found on Pink Floyd’s 1969 LP, Ummagumma.  In consequence, Grantchester Meadows has been part of me for most of my life.  Now, although no swan is mentioned in the lyric (which I reproduce below), at 4 min. 15 seconds the sound of a honking swan can be heard followed by that oh so ...

Development for both filming and the proposed building of a law enforcement training facility threats the forest that remains in DeKalb county and south of Atlanta Continue reading The effort to save Atlanta’s Forests at The Wild Hunt.

It’s raining men, and not the ones The Weather Girls sang about. They’re raining on Pride parades with violent intent. A U-Haul truckful of members from the white supremacist group, Patriot Front, was arrested before they could disrupt a Pride event in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Proud Boys stormed a Drag Queen story hour at a library in San Lorenzo, CA. Baptist ministers in Idaho and Texas went viral for calling on the government to execute gay people. Cancel all the hallelujahs for them.

A year of living, so much blooming or in bud We give thanks this day. We give thanks to our high school Bridgers, Duncan and Blake and their families who led a moving service last Sunday. We give thanks to everyone who enjoyed the flowers of the Flower ... read more . The post Co-Ministers’ Colloquy – June 14th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Congratulations to our bridging seniors, Blake Bender and Duncan Brown, who were celebrated at this past Sunday’s service! And, congratulations to all our graduating high school seniors as you transition out of youth and into young adulthood! Know that you will always have a home and people ... read more . The post Religious Education News – June 14th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

  Note:   We’ve been here before but slightly updated to account for recent catastrophe and on-going embarrassments. In case you hadn’t noticed today is officially Flag Day , a demi-holiday easily overlooked.  It is celebratedby displaying the American Flag.  Veterans groups often organize solemn flag disposal ceremonies .   No other country on Earth makes quite the fetish of its flag as does the United States.  The word idolatry comes to mind.  At its worst it elevatesthe symbol—the Flag—over the substance—the democratic values espoused in the Declaration of Independence and protected by the Constitution.  It is an absolute truism that those who wrap themselves most in the Flag—and these days that is not just a figur...

Having gone into such delicate detail with the previous drawing, I tried to do the opposite with the interesting light on this leaf. How quick and rough can the marks be and still get the shadow across? I’m not so good at quick and rough, and immediately started refining. An old story, and not only […]

–I spent a lot of time with this drawing yesterday! We had a terrific four-hour campus vision workshop at UUCPA, and I drew during a lot of it. With all that time, I sank into delicious detail. Will I go back to it and do more? Maybe, maybe not. One thing is clear: these leaves, […]

I preached from this sermon manuscript for the Universalist National Memorial Church, on June 12, 2022 using lessons from the Revised Common Lectionary: Romans 5: 1-5  and John 16: 12-15. Each time I preach in this church, I thank Pastor Gatton for inviting me and you for welcoming me. This isn’t just a bit of … Continue reading "Sermon: “The Right Use of the Spirit”"

Each of us should be allowed to maintain our integrity in ways that matter to us. Each of us is entitled to consent–and each of us is asked to respect the consent of others as they maintain their integrity. How do you respect the integrity of others?

Statue of Samantha from Bewitched vandalized, arson attempt at TST, Crossings of the Veil and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of June 13, 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

Tens of thousands joined the March for Our Lives event in Washington, D.C. on Saturday.  Their voices were magnified by more than 450 local event in 45 states including the one in Crystal Lake, Illinois. Saturdaymore than 50,000 people attended the March for Our Lives flagship event in Washington, D.C.   Many thousands more marched in big cities like Chicago and Los Angeles.   And in every cornerof the country there were local events in cities including gun crime ridden urban neighborhoods, towns, villages, and suburbs.   If there is a War on Guns it was a broad front offensive against the NRA, gun manufactures and importers, and bought-and-paid-for politicians.   And the local skirmish in McHenry County played out along a stretch o...

Just recently, I lost a significant person in my life. Even though we were not related, nor were we very close friends, he was no less consequential in my life. On June 1st in Tulsa, Oklahoma we lost a brilliant and excellent surgeon in the person of Dr. Preston Phillips. The post Grieving for Tulsa’s Loss appeared first on BeyondBelief.

    I’ve just noticed that the Episcopal Church observes today, the 13th of June, as a feast, of sorts, for Gilbert Keith Chesterton. He is perhaps best known as G. K. Chesterton, critic, biographer, novelist & Christian apologist. According to Wikipedia his “friendly enemy” George Bernard Shaw spoke of Chesterton as “a man of […]

For a very long time, I did not feel like the words I used to describe my identity had integrity with who I really was. It turned out that I needed to learn new words, and then I needed to give myself permission to describe myself in new ways. -Michael Tino (CLF) What are the … Continue reading Identity

Though Monday was officially the start of my sabbatical, I arrived in London on Friday. I have mixed feelings about being here. I am grateful for and excited about starting my sabbatical. At the same time, it seems that in the last week a number of folks in the church have come down with COVID. […]

The din had been loud inside the house, but outside, I felt like I was being buffeted by it, surrounded on all sides by argument. I felt a guilty weight in the pit of my stomach. I knew what the sound was now. I looked up and without any joy found what I expected to find. There were exactly two black crows sitting in the branches of my tree, facing my house, yelling at me. “What do you want?” I sighed. But I knew.  Continue reading Column: Hanging Garden at The Wild Hunt.

In the early days of May 2022, the U.S. experienced another mass shooting motivated by an ideology called “replacement theory.” How and when did this theory emerge? How has this idea affected persons of color? How can our awareness of this harmful ideology foster our work as compassionate humans? This talk will touch on these questions and others in an attempt to come to grips with difficult events in our history and our present moment.

I have been reviewing two soon-to-be published excerpts from my book, Wisdom of Our Hands . One will be in Quercus Magazine in the UK (also distributed in the US) and the other in  Woodworker West . Each focuses on different sections of the book.  I learned this morning that my  Wisdom of Our Hands  book is in its second printing. That's a good sign that the message within it is gaining traction. This coming week will be my last as director of the woodworking program at the Clear Spring School. And so I hope to step into a broader but continued role as an advocate for hands-on learning.  Also this coming week, my Guide to Woodworking with Kids will be back in the warehouse and ready for sales with a reprint being complete. On Saturd...

REFLECTION ON CHANGES IN ME Rev. Kit Ketcham, PRIDE 2022 Pacific UU Fellowship, June 12, 2022             Talking about sexual orientation and gender identity was a huge NoNo when I was a school counselor in Colorado back in the 80’s and 90’s.   I was so naïve that it took a long time for me to realize that there was something really wrong about that.             The change in me began when my college friend Fern came out to me after a suicide attempt.   It began to grow when I attended an in-service put on by PFLAG, an in-service designed for counselors in our district, where I saw that the president of the local chapter was the mother of two of my students.            It took another leap forward when a gutsy 9...

This was my second week on staying upright on the trails, but it has been hot this and I have really enjoyed swimming more than hiking this week. Plus, falling in water doesn’t hurt. With 3 days on the trails each week, and often 4 in our pool, life is quite good – at least […]

As we approach the Summer Solstice, let’s look at some of the ways modern Pagans celebrate this holy day.

Intensely  private Mildred and Richard Loving posed uncomfortably for the press as their case moved through the courts with intense media interest.  Note:  It’s Woodstock Pride Fest today where the LGBTQ community, family members, supporters, and the curious celebrate in McHenry County which not so many years ago was so conservative and hostile that few dared to publicly come out.  Much progress has been made over the last decades including the final victory for Marriage Equality in Illinois a few years ago.  But there are storm clouds on the horizon.  Transgender and genderfluid youth who came out boldly at the first Pride Fest in 2019 find themselves increasingly targeted by proposed legislation demanding school restrooms be op...

      Emptiness: A Practical Guide for MeditatorsGUY ARMSTRONG Somerville, Mass.: Wisdom Publications, 2017. 307 pp., paper, $17.95. Introduction to Zen Koans: Learning the Language of DragonsJAMES ISHMAEL FORD Wisdom Publications, 2018. 248 pp., paper, $17.95. Reviewed by Dhananjay Joshi Of course the bird we see and hear exists. It exists, but what I […]

Please join us on Sunday (12 June 2022) at 11:00 AM for “The Light at the End of the Tunnel” — an Affirmation Sunday Service honoring our high school graduate Andrew Lawrence and a recent college graduate. We will be meeting in the sanctuary for this worship service.  Please join us in person at All … Continue reading "Affirmation Sunday All-Ages Worship (12 June 2022)"

Please join us on Sunday (12 June 2022) at 9:00 AM for our adult religious education class via Zoom. This Sunday we continue our work through the book Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad. As the author says, “This is not a book you read, this is a book you do” and we … Continue reading "Online Adult Religious Education — 12 June 2022"

Please join us next Tuesday (14 June 2022) at 12 noon for our weekly Zoom lunch. Bring your lunch and meet up with your All Souls friends, have lunch, and just catch up.

Living with integrity can bring a fulfillment that is not always available to people in a society that teaches us that we are broken or wrong. Looking back on our lives, we can witness places where we felt the fulfillment of integrity, and we can seek to recreate them as the new day begins. How … Continue reading At The End of the Day

In our new Pilgrimages series, TWH's editor-in-chief, Manny Tejeda-Moreno, explores the famous Temple of Diana Nemorensis in Nemi, Italy. Continue reading Pilgrimages: a visit to the Temple of Diana at The Wild Hunt.

In the 2003-2004 school year, I drove to work every day from Oakland to Kensington along Grizzly Peaks Boulevard. The road winds through the Berkely Hills, rising to almost 1,500 feet above the level of San Francisco Bay, just a few miles away. That commute had the most spectacular views of any commute I’ve ever … Continue reading "View from Grizzly Peaks"

We’re getting ready to move to Massachusetts, some 3,150 miles away (give or take a couple of hundred miles). Right now, we’re packing all our belongings into four moving containers that are approximately 8 feet deep, 5 feet wide, and 7 feet high, or 1120 cubic feet. When we moved to California in 2009, we … Continue reading "Moving by the numbers"

  Photo by Chungkuk Bae on Unsplash Within our hands we hold the resurrection of the world. Transient and imperfect, these blossoms are still gifts of infinite value. Like ourselves.   ~ Thomas Rhodes Sunday, June 12, 10:30 a.m. Flower Communion Joint Worship Service at UUCSW   This Sunday, June 12, the Circle RE congregations are joining together for   [ … ] The post Sunday, June 12 ~ Flower Communion at UUCSW appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

With just a bit of help from a friend David Heim, who wrote a great book about SketchUp, I managed to made a 3D model of the Brusso JT-101 hinge. It's one I need to finish a box model for an article I'm proposing, and it feels great to be getting better at using the SketchUp 3D modeling program as it will allow me to better prepare for publishing a few extra box designs.  My big challenge that I had to ask David about was how to develop chamfers in the holes where the screws fit. He did them for me in one leaf and fortunately left the other for me to do with his instructions. So, now I can do them myself! You can find David's book on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/SketchUp-Success-Woodworkers-Drawings-Accurately/dp/1950934063/ Mak...

Memorial crosses for the dead outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Note —Today nation-wide March for Our Lives events will be held in Washington, D.C., major cities like Chicago, and in hundreds of smaller communities including a McHenry County vigil on Route 14 in Crystal Lake from 1 to 3 pm.  The student-led gun control advocacy group founded by Parkland school shooting survivors called the actions in response to the latest school shooting horror—the murder of 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on May 27. When I read a stunning but gut wrenching poem attributed to a “Uvalde Mom” I was suspicious that it was, in fact written by such a grief stricken mother so soon after the massa...

Yesterday I finished a five day box making class at ESSA with 9 students. This was my first full class since the start of the Covid pandemic and it was good to have a class again at the full capacity. Students each made three or more  boxes during the five days, and each learned a lot. I am grateful to have made new friends. Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning likewise.

          So, there I was minding my own business poking through Youtube’s algorithmic determined offerings, when up popped up a delightfully funny, and informative, clip from “Lutheran Satire.” The clip, “St Patrick’s Bad Analogies,” is a worthy romp through the deal of the Christian trinity, while making mild fun of the […]

Please join us on Saturday (11 June 2022) 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. The group is free and open to all. For more information, contact Larry … Continue reading "Meditation with Larry Androes (11 June 2022)"

A short  “ thought for the day” offered to the Cambridge Unitarian Church as part of the Sunday Service of Mindful   Meditation  (Click on this link to hear a recorded version of the following piece) —o0o— Last week a member of the congregation, Jerry, chose to read for us chapter 8 of the Book of Amos. As he intimated, progressive, liberal religious traditions have inherited some important ideas from Amos, such as the belief that religious sacrifices could never atone for bad deeds, and that the only genuine service of God was not to be found, not in public displays of religion, but only in acts of justice and righteousness. This basic stance was, of course, something shared by the other 8th-century prophetic writers, Isaia...

This is yesterday’s. A lovely habit has developed in which I draw at night, in my room, while my daughter reads to me. By the time the drawing is done and she’s too tired to read any more, I don’t want to disturb the peaceful feeling by getting my phone and taking the picture. So […]

In the 1930s, when “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” was released, children learned of a jolly bearded gift-bearing man who “knows when you are sleeping and knows when you’re awake. He knows when you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake!” If integrity is what you do when you think no … Continue reading Be Good For Goodness Sake

Here is what I know about Robin Goodfellow, the Puck, the mythic figure that influenced Shakespeare’s work. He’s old - old enough that records in the 1500s talk about working with him as a practice that was already fading, only remembered by grandmothers. He’s famous - famous enough that, in one old text, some of the good folk in England are referred to as plural, "robingoodfellowes." He’s complicated. He’s a household name. All of this is true - and yet  I have only found a handful of Pagans practicing today who work with him. Continue reading Column: Merry Wanderer at The Wild Hunt.

During General Assembly 2022 — the annual gathering of the Unitarian Universalist Association — Side With Love will have a range of programming and activities for participants in person in Portland, OR as well as online! Unless otherwise noted, all events and activities are open to the public. Side With Love Networking Room Join us in-person in Portland at our networking space in the Willamette 1 at the Hyatt Regency (across the street from the convention center). The space will be open to anyone registered for GA during these times: Wednesday: 12pm - 1:30pm PT Thursday - Sunday: 9am - 1:30pm PT Come by to get your #JusticeBingo card, find spiritual respite at our altar space, make signs for Friday’s public witness, write letters t...

      Dr Robert Smith took his last drink today, the 10th of June, in 1935. Alcoholics Anonymous, which was organized by Dr Bob and Bill Wilson, dates its creation from this moment. So, happy Eighty-seventh birthday, AA! Using principles first adapted from the Oxford Group and over time evolved into its own thing, […]

Elizabeth J. Andrew Words come alive when we claim what is sacred.

The streets call activists and lovers of justice and inclusion this weekend in McHenry County.  On Saturday there will be a local opportunity to participate in nation-wide March for Our Lives demonstrations.  All weekend Woodstock Pride has a full schedule of events culminating with the Pride Fest and the Pride Parade in Woodstock. Hundreds crowded Woodstock Square for the first local March for Our Lives event following the mass school shooting in Parkland Florida.  It was a raw March day in 2018.  Seen above is part of the the Tree of Life U.U. Congregation contingent.  March for Our Lives, the student-led gun control advocacy group founded by Parkland school shooting survivors, is planning nationwide protests on Saturday June 11 i...

Cambridge Unitarian Church contingent at OccupyLSX 2011 Recently I joined and subscribed to something called “The Radical Theology Seminar” (you can take a peek at this excellent project at this link). I recommend it highly.  Anyway, in a very insightful piece on the place of the riot in Radical Theology, Justin Leavitt Pearl noted that there was an overlap with the day of Pentecost and in connection with this thought he cited some words spoken by the philosopher Slavoj Žižek whilst addressing Occupy Wall Street protesters at Zuccotti Park in 2011 which I’d like to reproduce here, along with an additional, connected, quote from a 2007 lecture called “A Meditation on Michelangelo’s Christ on the Cross.” The reason for doing...

ILLUSION NUMBER ONE, PART ONE:Report from Planet Three©Dr. Chris Schriner 2022 I have not been on this site for a while, but I now may have time to begin posting occasionally – perhaps even regularly. Here is a talk I … Continue reading →

Prayer for the Week of June 12, 2022 Heart of Love grant us all the beauty bestowed to those who are tender-hearted, who are kind past easy and compassionate past bravery. Let us all be so beautiful. Heart of Love grant us all the beauty bestowed to those who speak...

I fell in adolescent lust for Judy Garland in her post-War Technicolor MGM musicals like Meet Me in St. Louis and never got over it. In the 1996 flick My Fellow Americans —which by the way seems downright prescient—two former Presidents and bitter political enemies were forced to go on the lam together when they were framed for the attempted assassination of the current occupant of the Oval Office.  James Garner channeled Bill Clinton and Jack Lemon stood in for George Bush the elder.  As they tried to uncover a sinister plot against Democracy in the heart of the White House they found themselves marching in a Gay Pride Parade to ditch the FBI agents tracking them down.  Naturally they ended up in a contingent of cross-dressing Ju...

“Let the life I live speak for me.” -African-American Spiritual, as made famous by Sullivan and Iola Pugh (The Consolers) What does your life say to others?

The remains of a stone circle dating to between 3,000 and 2,500 BCE has been discovered in Cornwall, England. Continue reading Stone circle site discovered in Cornwall at The Wild Hunt.

By Christian Coleman | Take a breath. The end of May and the start of June have been brutal. Ten Black citizens died in the white supremacist mass shooting in Buffalo, New York. Nineteen children and two teachers died in the Uvalde, Texas, elementary mass shooting. And despite the pandemic that has become a smoldering backdrop, the shootings have not stopped. We are already up to 233 this year. It’s . . . a lot. So much grief.

On Sunday, May 22, I shared my thoughts after reading Susan Cain’s book, Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make us Whole. You can view the sermon here (fast forward to 1:11:23–sermon is really on 16 minutes or so), but it may be easier to read it so the text is below. Please note this was … Continue reading Bittersweet: A sermon inspired by Susan Cain’s Book on Melancholy

If I’d known how to identify this tree, I probably would have done so many times during our recent trip to southwestern Utah. It is found there and around the Grand Canyon, as well as central California. My daughter expressed a hope that I would become a mom who can identify lots of trees when […]

  The Rev. Sean Parker Dennison, then minister of the Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation in McHenry, introducing the marriage ceremony to a packed sanctuary. Note — Not only is it LGBTQ Pride Month which is observed here in McHenry County by Woodstock Pride Fest, but it also marks an Illinois milestone victory for Marriage Equality and a joyful, pioneering wedding ceremony at Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation in McHenry.   We dip into the blog archives for this report posted the day after the big event. Triumphant.   It can be a word with unpleasant overtones.   Kind of an I-win-you-lose-stick-it-where-the-sun-don’t-shine gloat.   But I don’t mean it that way.   I don’t want to stick my thumb in...

UUSC visits Pacific islands to develop new ways of addressing the climate crisis

When I think of integrity, there is another word that closely flows behind which is accountability. If a process, a person or an object has integrity, we believe there is a solid foundation, a reliability that can be rested upon.  Do the spaces in which we move have integrity? -Lecretia Williams (CLF) How do you … Continue reading Accountability

Remember when I described the beauty of seeing a goldfinch climb over a dandelion stem to get the seeds? But I didn’t get a picture then? A little magic happened again, and this time I was able to get this photo from our deck. The more wild and plant-filled our yard has been, the more […]