Although today most Dad's eschew neck ties, they remain an iconic symbol of the day. Note —Tomorrow is Father’s Day in the U.S.  But this year it is also Juneteenth to which we will be giving attention.  So here is our holiday post on the eve. I may have mentioned before that Father’s Day is the redheaded stepchild of holidays.  It gets less respect than Rodney Dangerfield and is widely perceived for what it is—a tiny participation trophy to the gold plated loving cupthat is Mothers’ Day.  And that’s alright with most Dads who would rather just sleep in, thank you, and pass of the fuss. Once neckties were the gift of choice, but since few Dads regularly use them anymore, sales have concentrated on novelty coffee mugs, t-s...

      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 […]

There are hazards everywhere. Still not sure what happened but after a hike this week this happened to my right eye. Dust? A bug or bug bite? Who knows? It hurt a lot though. The eye doc I saw for it didn’t know what it was either but he did prescribe an ointment and said […]

We may be living under a dark cloud that threatens to rain on our parade, but our symbol is the rainbow. Though it will be hard work, will endure as we have always done. And when the clouds part we will shine in all of our colors, bigots be damned. Continue reading Opinion: The Storm Cloud and the Rainbow at The Wild Hunt.

“We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist.” -Robert Jones, Jr. (“Son of Baldwin”) How does integrity matter when you disagree with someone?

This willow goes by many names: Pacific willow in my field guide, but also red, whiplash, and shining willow (the translation of the scientific name). What I’ve drawn here is not a leaf, strictly speaking, but a stipule: a little quasi-leaf that grows at the junction of a twig and the stem of a leaf. […]

    Robert Aitken was born on this day, the 19th of June, in Philadelphia, in 1917. Soon after the family moved to Hawai’i. He is remembered as one of the first Westerners to be recognized as a Zen master. As it happens I’ve referenced him by name 139 times on my Monkey Mind blog. […]

We live in a society dominated by monotheism in general and Protestant Christianity in particular. It’s important that we understand these questions on our own terms and not default to the foundational assumptions of those who wiped out our ancestors’ religions.

  Note —To learn more about Juneteenth join Gloria Van Hof for her Zoom presentation Monday, June 20 from 7 to 8:30 pm Monday, June 20, 2022.   The presentation is 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. To Register visit https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwud--sqz0iHN1Hm6JD3axuBYswtc-GIZvi Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862.   Word spread through the slave grapevine quickly in much of the Confederacy and, as Lincoln had hoped, many slaves abandoned their plantations and sought the safety of Union forces wherever they could.   Not only did this cripple t...

The 9:00 AM adult religious education class will be taking a break for three Sundays (19 June 2022, 26 June 2022, and 3 July 2022). We will come back together on 10 July 2022 for check-in and to talk about where we go from here — please bring your ideas.

Please join us on Sunday (19 June 2022) at 11:00 AM for “In the Shadow of Bloody Caddo:  Reflections on Reconstruction in Northwest Louisiana” by Frank Severic (graduate research assistant at the Northwest Louisiana Archives at LSU-Shreveport). In light of the antiracism work we are doing and in light of the current trend to try … Continue reading "All-Ages Worship (19 June 2022)"

A service commemorating Los Alamos Pride Week.

 I checked pricing on two of my books on Amazon and learned that they've jacked the price up over the suggested retail. I don't know the reasons for it as most publishers find Amazon's strategies to be inexplicable. In the meantime, LeeValley.com has my  Guide to Woodworking with Kids,   Making Classic Toys that Teach , and my new book  The Wisdom of our Hands  available for immediate shipping. These are the links: https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/books-and-dvds/111950-the-guide-to-woodworking-with-kids https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/books-and-dvds/75487-making-classic-toys-that-teach and https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/books-and-dvds/114136-the-wisdom-of-our-hands-crafting-a-life There are times wh...

The Chinese government has instituted a number of new measures intended to curb the practice of folk religions, such as worship of figures like Huangdi, the Yellow Emperor, and Nong Zhigao, a culture hero who resembles Robin Hood. Continue reading New government measures curtail folk religion in China at The Wild Hunt.

“For all who had to set boundaries in order to keep your mind intact, may your own mind be your blessing. Its integrity, its edginess, its willingness to wonder and to know. May you know your own mind as God’s blessing.” -Rev Meg Riley How have boundaries helped you maintain your integrity of mind and … Continue reading Edges

The human right to migrate is one that should be protected, both nationally and internationally.

The day before a road trip is usually busy. When you’re taking a road trip to move across the continent, the day before a road trip is especially busy. Tomorrow we start driving to Massachusetts. We spent the day packing up the last of our belongings into moving containers. In the morning, we felt a … Continue reading "San Mateo"

Criss-crossed by shadows, this bonplandiana leaf, of all the ones I saw online, said “draw me.”

The Green Man, or Oak King, pagan ruler of Midsummer. Yesterday was Father’s Day .  Tomorrow the Summer Solstice which will be at 4:13 am Central Daylight Time.  On this interim day we will revisit Sucha calendar coincidence when both fell on the same day seven years ago and moved me to the commission of poetry like a prune juice and X-Lax smoothie facilitates an explosive bowl movement. Depending on your outlook the results may be equally as messy and disgusting. Some ancient peoples marked the Solstice occasion with such astonishing precision involving monoliths, mounds, and monuments that it has enabled a basic cable cottage industry of pseudo-science documentaries speculating about aliens.  But for many others, the precise date ...

Two weeks ago, I had terrible cramping in my lower abdomen. Over a few days, it gradually localized to the lower left of my abdomen, particularly when I had to poop. My medical practitioner did some blood tests, and found high inflammation, but not infection, and scheduled a CT scan. They determined that I was […]

Celebrate Juneteenth & Black Excellence by diving into books by Black authors, check out Black-owned and operated media, supporting businesses and some of the best food Tulsa has to offer! The post Celebrating Juneteenth appeared first on BeyondBelief.

June solstice blessing from The Wild Hunt! Blessed Litha, Blessed Midsummer, Blessed Yule, and Happy 23.44° North Latitude! Continue reading June Solstice Blessings from The Wild Hunt at The Wild Hunt.

The flame in our chalice, “is our promise that in our smallness and our short time on this Earth, that we live intently and deeply, with love for one another, with honesty and integrity…..” -Shawn Trapp What does the flame in our chalice signify to you?

We got up early, and kept working from six thirty to twelve thirty. We put a few last items in the moving container, tied the canoe on the car, did some more last minute cleaning, loaded up the car, argued about little things, did a walk-through of the house with Kathy the cemetery superintendent and … Continue reading "San Mateo to Fernley, Nev."

Oxford is a quintessential walking city. It is made for foot traffic and bicycles, not cars or even public transit. My morning commute to Harris Manchester College consists of a thirty minute walk through a series of meadows. Along the way, I am passed by numerous bicyclists. There’s a playground, manicured lawns and gardens, several […]

Although the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, has been marked and celebrated across cultures since pre-historic times, it is today celebrated mostly—understandably—in the most northern climes.  A day on or near the Solstice is still a widely celebrated public holiday—Midsummer’s Day—in most of Scandinavia, the Baltic nations and in Quebec.  It is a widely observed unofficial celebration in Ireland and northern England and in several other countries. Of course, in the Southern Hemisphere it is the Winter Solstice and celebrated with many of the traditions imported by Europeans for that occasion . At dusk on Midsummer's Eve young women neo-pagans launch miniature rafts with burning candles in Baltic areas like Estoni...

Please join us next Tuesday (21 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.

I have a book signing and reading event on Saturday June 25 at the Two Friends Books Store at 11 AM. Beat the heat, browse books, and give me a chance to explain how the hands bring things together for better lives and richer communities.  The map and address will help you find your way andTwo Friends Book Store is a place you will enjoy having discovered. Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning likewise.

In this week's Pagan Community Notes, Cernunnos status draws complaints, Sesame Street's Wicked Witch footage found, a protest about the Parthenon Marbles, and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of June 20, 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

Last month, I proposed ten kinds of resources that might already exist to help very small churches. A commenter suggested an eleventh. I’d like to take a couple of months to start filling in a resource list. If you know of an applicable resources, please leave it in the comments and I’ll review it (for … Continue reading "Correcting resources for very small churches"

Taken with an iPhone 6 Plus and the Blackie App Just click on the photo to enlarge it   In 2016, when this photo was taken, I was just beginning to think seriously about getting what, once-upon-a-time, I would have called a “proper” camera. I’ll come back to the problematic word “proper” in a moment.  When I was a teenager in the late 1970s my father gave me a Voigtlander 35mm camera and I had great fun learning how to take, mostly black and white, photos on that. There was a skill to capturing even a half-decent image and I remember enjoying immensely the challenge of this. I delighted in it so much that after my A-levels I toyed for a while with the idea of going to college (at Colchester Institute) to study photography bef...

“I am what I am And what I am needs no excuses I deal my own deck Sometimes the aces sometimes the deuces It’s one life and there’s no return and no deposit One life so it’s time to open up your closet” -from “I Am What I Am,” by Jerry Herman What are the … Continue reading I Am What I Am

This is a continuation of the previous post. I recommend beginning with that post (Illusion Number One, Part One). ILLUSION NUMBER ONE, PART TWO Your Many Minds ©Rev. Chris Schriner 2022 Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Sunnyvale June 12, 2022             … Continue reading →

We drove past dramatic scenery today: the Forty-Mile Desert, the green Humboldt River valley in between sagebrush plains, towering 11,000 foot mountains…. But what stays in my mind are the flowers we saw blooming near Pequop Summit. We parked in the Pequop Summit rest area, elevation 6,967 feet above sea level. We walked over the … Continue reading "Fernley, Nev., to Wendover, Utah"

Cecil B. DeMille's 1953 The Greatest Show on Earth was a huge hit and helped save Hollywood as television was keeping people home.  In gratitude the film won the Oscar for Best picture over such certified classics as High Noon , Moulon Rouge , and The Quiet Man. Old time movie buffs like me are sure to remember the glitzy, gaudy, gauche 1952 Cecil B. DeMille flick The Greatest Show on Earth.   The veteran director put aside his customary sandal and sand Biblical epics to use the Ringling Bros , Barnum & Bailey Circus as the backdropfor a somewhat turgid melodrama.   The film was a box office sensation at the time the movies were losing a battle for viewers to the infant medium of Television.   Impressed, Motion Picture Academy voters...

It comes down to one simple thing: do the deeds match the words? Do you do the things that other people who carry that title do, and do you do them with a suitable degree of competence and commitment? Do you do them in a comparable context?

I've been refining my illustration skills using the SketchUp 3D modelling program, a favorite among woodworkers. It is almost easier to make a box, than to illustrate the box, but I expect that with practice, my illustration skills will improve. If you want to get good at something, do a lot of it.  The box shown is one that was featured in my book Beautiful Boxes: Design and Technique published by Taunton Press. https://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Boxes-Technique-Doug-Stowe/dp/1621139557/ It can be made with hand or power tools. Make, fix and create. Assist others in learning likewise.

JeKaren Olaoya We have to keep finding ways to widen the circle of care and concern. Continue reading "We Will Only Rise"

      As it happens it was on this day, the 22nd of June in 1633 that Vincenzo Maculani da Firenzuola representing the Holy Office of the Inquisition, declared: “We pronounce, judge, and declare, that you, the said Galileo… have rendered yourself vehemently suspected by this Holy Office of heresy, that is, of having […]

"I'm Here & I'm Queer," the title of Randy Lewis' message at All Souls Church, on Sunday, June 26, is a declaration of his return to Tulsa from Raleigh, NC, and a statement of pride, acknowledging his existence as an LGBTQ+ minister. Following a week of PRIDE gatherings at All Souls, including marching in the Tulsa Pride parade, the celebration of inclusion and diversity will conclude with PRIDE Sunday services, at 10 am in the Sanctuary service and 11:30 am in The Point, Humanist Hour service. Both services will feature the All Souls Choir, YAVE, performing live. The post I’m Here & I’m Queer appeared first on BeyondBelief.

Eons ago, as a college freshman, I ran afoul of 17th-century philosopher Rene Descartes. Considered the father of modern, rational thinking, Descartes is famous for his “cogito argument.” In Latin that’s “Cogito, ergo sum” translated as “I think, therefore I am.” The first thing I learned about Descartes was that his writing was so convoluted, […] The post The Problem with “Reason” appeared first on Dennis McCarty.

The most recent ruling handed down by the Supreme Court in Carson v. Makin has potentially serious implications for the future of the separation of church and state but the potential to benefit Pagan educational systems. Continue reading SCOTUS says taxpayer funds can support religious education at The Wild Hunt.

You have a wonderful way of describing your surroundings that allows the reader to visualize the scene and be right there with you. Thank you for sharing. English gardens are one of my favorite things. It is good to know you are not just all work and no play.

“Thirty pieces of silver. That’s all it took for Judas to betray the one who had washed his feet, whom he’d witnessed heal, feed and tend the neediest of people, and heard teach about loving enemies and forgiving seventy times seven. Thirty pieces of silver in exchange for Jesus. My grandfather used to say, ‘People … Continue reading Greed

Our room in Wendover looked out onto a rock outcropping which rose up a hundred feet or more behind the motel. After a quick breakfast, I went out and followed an ATV trail up the outcropping. Soon I was fifty feet above the motel, on a level area below the summit of the outcropping. From … Continue reading "Wendover to Rock Springs, Wyo."

Indigenous communities view migration as a critical part of building community and culture.

Norman Rockwell, the beloved painter and illustrator of a pleasant America, was deeply moved by the Civil Rights movement and shocked the nation with his depiction of the murder of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner.  June 21 was the anniversary of an important and tragic event in the struggle for social justice in America—the murder of three young civil rights workers in Mississippi in the summer of 1964.   Their story reminds us that before young white people took to the streets in unprecedented numbers in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and in protest to the police killings of George Floyd and other African-Americans and People of Color, an earlier generation put their lives on the linein the segregationist South where the ...

A Q&A with Imani Perry | I believe that Lorraine is having a well-deserved extended period of recognition. I am also thrilled that “A Raisin in the Sun” is reportedly returning to Broadway in the fall. But I’m still holding out hope that her other work, especially “Les Blancs” and “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window,” will be produced more frequently.

I asked permission to share to our wider congregation simply because it acknowledged what I have been, and am increasingly feeling ... and I imagine many of you are feeling the weight of it all too. Also, her email names and addresses some of the direct issues connected with our church. I felt it was important to share these connections so we may have a shared understanding of what is happening within and around our community. The post Feeling the weight appeared first on BeyondBelief.

On-demand video: welcome, introductions, and adoption of rules. Continue reading "General Session I, General Assembly 2022"

As the drought in California continues and expands with no end in sight, officials consider implementing more restrictions on water use. Continue reading Megadrought in California leads some to rely on “water witching” for crops at The Wild Hunt.

I continue to refresh my SketchUp skills, not knowing whether they will come in handy or not except as a means of sharing with you.  This illustration is another box from my book Beautiful Boxes: Design and Technique. The most difficult thing on this project was to make Brusso JB-102 hinges to fit. You can buy or borrow the book for additional details on making a box like this for yourself. I remind my readers and friends of my book signing on Saturday at Two Friends Book Store in Rogers, 11 AM on June 25. Make, fix and create...

“I always admired and loved my mother for her integrity, her many caring ways, her strong sense of duty as a public health nurse helping the poorest of the poor, her love of nature, her unbound generosity and sense of gratitude, and her love of the Mystery which she used to call Giver of All … Continue reading Missing Her

After driving for about 80 miles, I decided I needed to stretch my legs, so we took Exit 184, Continental Divide Road, and turned right onto a dirt road that led to some wayside markers. One of the signs explained how Henry Bourne had an idea for a cross-country auto road. But, as usual, I … Continue reading "Rock Springs to Gillette, Wyo."

Attacking a homestead during King Philip's War. On June 24, 1675 King Philip’s Warerupted in New England with the sudden attack on isolated farmsteadsin the Town of Swansea in Plymouth Colony by a band of Pokanoket.   The raiders lay siege to the town for five days before capturing and burningit with several settlers killed, including some from other towns who had attempted to raise the siege. Alarm spread across the colonies.   Forces of Plymouth and Boston responded by raiding and burning a Wampanoag town at Mt. Hope(modern Bristol, Rhode Island).   The war quickly spread across the region with the Wampanoag, Pokanoket, Nipmunk, Podunk, Narragansett, and Nashaway peoples rising up against the colonists and their native allies the ...

Week of June 26, 2022 Beloved, let our nights and days fill with the varied fragrances of compassion, showing up as a generous and kind neighbor to strangers, making amends where we have swerved away from what love challenges us to become or integrity invites us to embody. Beloved, may...

English 101 – Essay on Categorizing On Saturday, June 25th, 2022 the city of Cambridge is proclaiming “Pit Rat Day.” I won’t be there, because of a variety of reasons. But, part of my heart will always be on those cement benches, holding my friends’ hands and hugging them tight. Below is an essay I […]

Dear reader, it’s been a while since you’ve heard from me — over five years! That’s hard to believe. Life has been unfolding in its own way, though, and while Leaping Loon has had its hiatus, the time has come … Continue reading →

        Today, the 24th of June, is Midsummer Day, the ancient European celebration of the summer. The solstice rolls around close to it, this year it was the 21st. In the development of the Christian liturgical calendar this date becomes significant because it becomes the feast of John the Baptist. As the […]

Earlier today, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson case. The final opinion effectively overturned Roe v. Wade and eliminated federal protections for abortion. Each state will now be able to independently regulate abortion, with at least 26 states poised to entirely ban abortion care beginning immediately.  We weep for the millions of people and families that will be harmed–physically, spiritually, financially, and emotionally–because of this decision. We mourn that this ruling rolls back many decades of advances for reproductive health, rights, and justice. And we sit with the numbness, despair, and anger we feel knowing that white Christian nationalist misogyny has won the day.  ...

I took a break from this one (MacKenzie willow) about 2/3 of the way through, then liked it so much when I opened my sketchbook again that I didn’t add another mark. Nor did I look back at the reference photo to see what I was leaving out by stopping. I like the spirit of […]

In response to the US Supreme Court's ruling in the Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women Health Organization case, which overturns Roe v. Wade, UUA President Susan Frederick-Gray reaffirms Unitarian Universalist commitment to reproductive justice. Continue reading "From the UUA President: UUs Remain Committed to Reproductive Justice"

  This Sunday, June 26, join us as we join the largest annual gathering of UUs joining in worship. This powerful, communal worship experience will stream on Sunday, June 26, 2022 at 9:30 Pacific / 10:30 Mountain / 11:30 Central / 12:30 Eastern. Members of the public are welcome to view the service. The Office of   [ … ] The post Sunday, June 26 ~ UUA General Assembly ~12:30 p.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

This is a horrible day in the history of the United States. A majority of the Supreme Court believes we have only the rights the majority deigns to give us. So we have to form a new majority that insists fundamental rights are for everyone.

  “In early 2021, the Common Start Coalition drafted legislation, originally filed by Reps. Gordon & Madaro and Senators Lewis & Moran, that would make early education and child care more affordable for families, raise pay for early educators, and provide stable funding to providers.” Common Start Coalition: The Common Start Agenda     In early 2021, the Common Start Coalition drafted legislation, originally filed by Reps. Gordon & Madaro and Senators Lewis & Moran, that would make early education read more... The post Action Alert: Pass MA Child Care Legislation This Session! appeared first on Promise the Children.

One of the things I have learned to grapple with as I have aged is the realization that I am, at heart, an institutionalist. Me, the girl who was granted the “Campus Radical” moniker in 6th grade because, among other views, stated that Nixon was, in fact, a crook and that the 6th grade classroom … Continue reading With Sorrow … We Dissent

Susan Frederick-Gray Boston, Mass. (June 24, 2022)  – The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued its decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women Health Organization case, which overturns Roe v. Wade, upending nearly 50 years of access to abortion. Below is a statement from Rev. Dr. Susan Frederick-Gray, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), regarding this decision: This decision manifests the worst fears of those of us who have been working for decades to protect and affirm reproductive rights.

I love to travel by car, train, or boat. Whether a planned trip or an impulse adventure, making the most of an opportunity to revisit familiar and well-remembered places or explore new settings always makes me happy. For me the journey itself is as important as the destination. Music, conversation, comfortable silences, roadside diners, scenery, and side trips to see an old cabin or a waterfall or a special little bookstore add immeasurably to the width of each adventure. Continue reading Column: Safe Travels in Troubled Times at The Wild Hunt.

One of these days I'll have real boxes to share with you. I actually have two large jewelry boxes in the works, but they take time, and my work on them is proceeding at a snail's pace. Tomorrow I have  book signing at the Two Friends Book Store in Bentonville, and I hope a few friends show up. Scroll down to an earlier post for details. The small cube box illustration shown is one that was featured on the cover of my book Basic Box Making.  https://www.amazon.com/Basic-Box-Making-Doug-Stowe/dp/1561588520/ It is made with a keyed-miter joint and mixing and matching woods is an ideal way to add additional interest. The design principle involved is contrast. Contrast lures the eyes into deeper engagement with the object. Make, fix and cre...

The most inequitable activity on the planet is the continued erasure of women’s agency to their full humanity.  We see this in rape as a weapon and as a result of political conflict or as an expression of cultural class dominance. We see it in obstructing women from education. We see it when weaponized religion […]

We got a late start (again), so this will be a short post. Heading east from Gillette, Wyo., we left the Far West behind and entered the Great Plains. It’s still spring, so the grasslands were brilliant green. As we entered the Black Hills of South Dakota, we saw how they got their name: in … Continue reading "Gillette, Wyo., to Chamberlain, S.D."

“Just as there is a spectrum of gender which can be experienced, so is there a spectrum of experience for transitioning. We stand with you today as you make the choices that are best for you. We trust you to be the best authority of what is right for you, understanding this includes the right … Continue reading Support for Your Journey

                                        Granddaughter Matilda and the Old Man at a Memorial Day ceremony in Crystal Lake a few weeks ago. Matilda and the Four Little People June 23, 2022   The child goddess Matilda has             one             two             three             four Little People two women two men each about three inches high and each in their own bright clothes.                                           Matilda's little square house with four doors and shiny brass hardware and the Old Man's big soft brown chair. They each live             one             two             three         

Please join us on Saturday (25 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 (25 June 2022)"

We, the Unitarian Universalist Ministers of the greater Houston area, decry the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn Roe V. Wade. The first two principles of our faith state that we believe in “the inherent worth and dignity of every person,” and “justice, equity, and compassion in human relations.” To […]

The Widow's Mite — William Teulon Blandford Fletcher (1858–1936) 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, using a story found in the gospels of Luke (21:1–4) and Mark (12:41–44), I explored with you the asymmetry that Jesus saw existed between those who were financially wealthy and those who were financially poor. Let’s hear the story from Luke once again:  “And looking up [Jesus] saw the rich putting their offerings into the treasury. And he saw a certain impoverished widow there putting in two lepta [i.e. two coins of the lowest value], A...

      For me, today, the 25th of June is something of a holy day. I’ve described this day before. It is, as I said, a holy day for me… On this day in 1900 the Daoist monk Wang Yuanlu, was at work salvaging for ancient religious artwork in one of the ruined Caves […]

From the Unitarian Universalist Association President Rev. Dr. Susan Frederick-Gray: Boston, Mass. (June 24, 2022) – The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued its decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women Health Organization case, which overturns Roe v. Wade, upending nearly 50 years of access to abortion. Below is a statement from Rev. … Continue reading "Unitarian Universalists Remain Committed to Reproductive Justice"

Please join us next Tuesday (28 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.

Children and youth are invited to the potluck this week. Activities will be provided to keep small and not-so-small hands busy.

The 9:00 AM adult religious education class will be taking a break for three Sundays (19 June 2022, 26 June 2022, and 3 July 2022). We will come back together on 10 July 2022 for check-in and to talk about where we go from here — please bring your ideas.

Please join us on Sunday (26 June 2022) at 11:00 AM for an all-ages potluck and viewing of the Sunday morning worship service at the UUA General Assembly in Portland, Oregon. Bring a dish to share and join us in the Social Hall for a potluck brunch and viewing of this worship service. The potluck … Continue reading "All-Ages Potluck Brunch and Sunday Morning Worship from General Assembly (Portland, Oregon — 26 June 2022)"

  I had a pleasant reading, book signing and conversation at the Two Friends Book Store in Bentonville, AR today. And it was particularly pleasing that three woodworking friends came to it. I have long known that woodworkers are particularly generous in wanting to share with each other. It is my belief that attempting to make  beautiful and useful things grooms us for assuming constructive roles in society and  builds a generosity of spirit that's needed now, more than ever given the monumental challenges of these times. Something I've noticed is that big things have a tendency to grow from small humble things. We can think of the wisdom of our hands in that light. Nourish them with good things to do, keep an eye on them and see what ...

Karl E.H. Seigfried delves into the ways we interpret and misinterpret the texts that shape our lives - whether those texts are Old Icelandic poems or the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Continue reading Opinion: Thor, Odin, and the High Cost of Fundamentalism at The Wild Hunt.

We spent the day in Chamberlain so I could participate in an online workshop for General Assembly, the big annual meeting of Unitarian Universalists. In the morning we headed to the Akta Lakota Museum, which reportedly has one of the largest collections of Lakota artifacts. The collection includes late nineteenth and early twentieth century artifacts, … Continue reading "Chamberlain, S.D."

“All of who you are is sacred. All of who you are is welcome” In this community of faith, you are recognized as whole, as holy, and as beautiful. How does knowing you are sacred change you?

                                                       Olympia Brown as a young woman. On June 25, 1863 Olympia Brown was ordained as a minister by the St. Lawrence Association of Universalists in New York State.   She was the first woman in America ordained as a minister with full denominational authority.   A handful of other women had been ordained by individual congregations, been licensed to preach, or founded their own churches.   The twenty-eight year old Brown came fully and formally educated in a denomination—Universalism—that had often relied on self-educated preachers to spread the liberal gospel of Universal Salvation .   Brown was born to Vermont Yankee stock on a pioneer farm near Pr...

        Today, the 26th of June, the American Episcopal Church celebrates the life of Isabel Florence Hapgood. For me she’s particularly interesting in that she opened some fascinating doors for spiritual exploration. Born in Boston in 1851 to an affluent family, she had many of the advantages of that time and place. […]

A question on Twitter asked “is there space for the non-left, or pro-life in Paganism or Polytheism anymore?” I gave a Twitter-length response, but the question deserves a more in-depth answer.

Steve Palmer's furniture design class returned to ESSA this last week as students gathered to make tables. You can see in the photo that it was a successful 5 day class, with each student making a table utilizing their own design inclinations. Steve uses a loose tenon technique for joining parts. In that technique, a solid wood tenon is formed that is inserted in mortises cut in both parts. When properly sized and glued in place the loose tenon technique provides as much strength as a conventional mortise and tenon joint. This article explains the technique:  https://www.woodcraft.com/blog_entries/joinery-class-loose-tenon-joinery Make, fix and create...

On the road in more ways than one. We were in Portland for the general assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association when we heard the news about Roe. Of course we joined in a spontaneous demonstration of outrage. There were thousands there including the President of our Association and several hundred other Unitarian Universalists. It […]

Summer movies return! This time out, we take a look at last year's hit, Free Guy , and what it has to tell us about free will and being human. [And join us the evening before, 6/25, at 6:30 in the Sanctuary for a chance to see the film on movie night.]

TWH's Lyonel Perabo speaks with Jack Hudson, events coordinator for Asatru UK, about the upcoming Althyng festival in North Yorkshire, England. Continue reading Gathering the Heathen Tribes: Asatru UK’s Althyng at The Wild Hunt.

What you believe matters. How you express your beliefs matter. And finding a place for your theology to be expressed with integrity matters. What have you learned on your journey to theological integrity?