The first vaccine to be approved for use on insects in the U.S. offers hope in stemming the spread of the disease, American foulbrood (AFB), a bacterial infection that is almost always fatal to bees. Continue reading USDA approves the world’s first insect vaccine for honeybees at The Wild Hunt.

This Sunday’s Faith Development programming for children and youth will be a Children’s Chapel, an activity for children in grades Kindergarten through 6th grade. Before you head into the worship service, drop off your children in the Kindergarten-3 rd Grade Room next to the dining room. ... read more . The post Religious Education on March 19th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

  General John J. "Blackjack" Pershing leads his Punitive Expeditionary Force across the Rio Grande and into Mexico. A fool’s errand.  That’s what General John J. “Blackjack” Pershing was sent on by President Woodrow Wilson.  On March 15, 1916 the General rode off at the head of about 12,000 troops of the Punitive Expeditionary Force on a mission to find and destroy Pancho Villa and his rebel army in Mexico.  Doroteo Arango , alias Francisco “Pancho” Villa, was born in 1877 in San Juan del Rio, the State of Durango in Northern Mexico.  He was an outlaw by 16 and the head of his own gang of  banditos  shortly after.  Because he frequently clashed with the forces of the hated dictator Por...

For all that it’s important to pay attention to what’s going on in this world, we ignore what’s going on in the Otherworld at our peril. The battle to reshape our world is picking up again. And we need to pay attention.

I grew up at a time and in a culture filled with hard binaries: everything was either right or wrong; good or bad; heaven or hell; black or white; man or woman; American or foreign. The list could be expanded. … Continue reading →

International Women’s Day has just passed, and in the US it’s Women’s History Month. Let us pause today to celebrate women–all women. The erasure of any women from this celebration–trans women, queer women, women of color, disabled women–does an injustice to all people. Who is a woman you would like to celebrate today?

Erika Hewitt What’s your most memorable story about getting lost? What do you remember about finding your way home? Continue reading "Blaze by Blaze"

Please join us for a special Spiritualist Sunday Service with Rev. Nancy Smith at the Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson,10:30 a.m., on March 26.  This service is FREE and open to the public. After the service at 1:00 p.m., Rev. Nancy will do a demonstration of mediumship and spirit drawings. Please join us for this   [ … ] The post Sunday, March 26 ~ Spiritualist Service/Mediumship Demonstration ~ 10:30 a.m./1:00 p.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

Sunday, March 19 Vulnerability and Healing Since October, Rev. Alice has been enrolled an intensive course introducing the Soma Soul® mind-body approach to healing. Join us this Sunday, March 19, as she shares what she is learning about healing through authentic, vulnerable connection.  All Are Welcome ~ Childcare Provided          [ … ] The post Sunday Worship: March 19 ~ Vulnerability and Healing ~ 10:30 a.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

On my Sunday afternoon walk, I came across a small tree covered with little gray catkins just coming out on some of the twigs. We always called these Pussy Willows, presumably because the trees look like willow trees (Salix sp.), and the small emerging flower clusters, true to their name, look like small furry cats. … Continue reading "Signs of spring"

A temple to the Sumerian god, Ninĝirsu has been uncovered in the ancient city of Girsu in Iraq. Continue reading Archeologists announce discovery of 4,500 year-old Temple to Ninĝirsu at The Wild Hunt.

I’ve been reading Universalist history for decades, but the details of the Restorationist Controversy (UUDB.org) escaped me. I know the broad strokes, the theological points, the key players and the slogans, mostly from Richard Eddy, but the social, economic and ecclesiologial dimensions weren’t clear until I read Peter Hughes’s two (2000, 2002) essays in The … Continue reading "A pivot to Paul Dean"

The Scarlet Letter  by Hugues Merlem 1861. Hester Prynne and daughter Pearl are in the foreground and Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth can be seen dimly in the background at left. On March 16, 1850 Nathaniel Hawthorne’sThe Scarlet Letter , widely regarded as the first great American novel was issued by Ticknor,Reed & Fields, the publisher of choice for the New England transcendentalist literary elite.  Nathanial Hathorne was born in 1804 in Salem , Massachusetts , a member of an old family that, much to his chagrin and embracement, included one of the judges of the Salem Witch Trials .   He later added a w to the spelling of the family name in a vain attempt to disguise the connection.  After his sea captain father died wh...

“We face a challenge to democracy: a challenge that calls us to hope in moments of despair, a challenge that asks us to persist in the faith that we can and must make a difference.” -Pat Uribe-Lichty How do you persist in the faith that you can make a difference?

I have a tree that is next to my mailbox and close to the road. It was just a tree to me. It actually did not fit in the plan that I had for my yard. The lower branches would … Continue reading →

 A good friend of mine passed away. Hank Kaminski was one of my early friends when I moved to Eureka Springs, and his wife JoAnn was the person I met who told me about this place and suggested I consider Eureka Springs as a place to work as I was ready to move on from doing pottery at Memphis State.  Hank's life and achievements are discussed at the Arkansas Department of Heritage website. https://www.arkansasheritage.com/blog/dah/2020/07/23/sculptor-hank-kaminsky-named-2018-arkansas-living-treasure  I was honored to have been a panel member selecting Hank as an Arkansas Living Treasure.  I explained to the panel that I would recuse myself from voting because Hank was like a brother to me, but the panel voted unanimously and at the ...

 This is a letter I received from former president Jimmy Carter. He is a man of courage and conviction. He's also shared my own passion for woodworking.  As one of my most admired presidents,  I had sent him a copy of my book,  The Complete Illustrated Guide, Box Making,  and notice about an article coming at that time in  Fine Woodworking Magazine.  All the holes at the top of the letter are from it being pinned to my bulletin board for the last 19 years. Aside from a shared interest in woodworking, I can cite about a hundred reasons why I hold Jimmy Carter in high esteem, as others do as well. During the run up to the presidential election that  Reagan won and Carter lost, emissaries from Reagan sent a cake to the Ayatollah, ur...

As we mark the third anniversary of the COVID lockdown, it seems like a good time to do some reflection on the last three years, and this season of pandemic. As we all know this was like nothing else any of us had ever experienced, but I just want to reflect more locally on Riverside, and draw your attention to the audio archive Doorstep Revolution, a project I was part of putting together as

Whip out that #OscarsSoMale hashtag. This year, the Academy snubbed such filmmakers as Gina Prince-Bythewood, Maria Schrader, Sarah Polley, and Charlotte Wells as Best Director nominees. In “The Wrong Kind of Women,” Naomi McDougall Jones writes that this snubbery—read: discrimination—owes itself to “the film industry’s fetishization of the male ‘genius’ auteur filmmaker.” Must the patriarchy be so basic? At least Sarah Polley took home a Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award for her film “Women Talking.”

The Museum of Magic, Fortune-telling & Witchcraft recently opened in Edinburgh and has a focus on raising "awareness of Scotland’s rich heritage of magic." Continue reading New museum of magic opens in Edinburgh at The Wild Hunt.

Click here for Poetry Reading with all three contributors. Ival Stratford Kovner        Trail Train Stop NY State AppalachiANNA on the 75th birthday of the Appalachian Trail The trail will be 86 on 8/12/12.  Youngest female recently finished -age 15. A 76 year old  female had 300 miles to go! Karen Sheahan was a flight attendant for 35 years and brings a global view. Lindsa Vallee's poetry told the story of a self-sown seed that grew to the  height of her second floor porch and remained strong even after its leaves  had dried up and its drooping head was bursting with seeds that Two corellas share a sunflower head Olivia Ames Hoblitzelle , a writer and teacher, was formerly the Associate Director of the Mind/Body Clinic and a Tea...

The UUA Nominating Committee submitted the following slate of nominations for elected boards, committees, and commissions, which will be part of the larger election at General Assembly 2023. Continue reading "Nominations for Election at General Assembly 2023"

According to a recent Pew survey, Americans perceive Jews more favorably than any other religion: 35% have a very or somewhat favorable view of Jews, 58% have no opinion, and 6% have an unfavorable opinion. That’s a 28 point “balance of opinion” between favorable and unfavorable. Mainline Protestants ranked second, with a 20 point balance … Continue reading "Perceptions of religious affiliations"

At this morning’s meeting of the South Shore UU ministers, one of the topics we discussed was elder abuse. It turns out that in Massachusetts are not mandated by law to report elder abuse, though we are mandated reporters of child abuse. We do have the option of reporting elder abuse, though people who are … Continue reading "Learning experience"

19th Century American greeting and souvenir cards blended sentimentality and symbols of Irish nationalism especially the harp, shamrocks, and the once banned green.  Modern cards mostly feature leering and/or drunken leprechauns. Note :   For those of you unaware, this is my natal anniversary.   Turn 74 today.   Bet you wondered how I got the name.   Anyway, I am rerunning a yearly classic. Meanwhile to the Irish and wan-a-be-Irish, enjoy the day.   Have fun, but try not to live down to some unfortunate stereotypes.    And for Christ’s sake don’t drink the damn green beer, an abomination and insult to the soul!   Have a dram of Jameson’s with a Guinness back for me! Today is the Feast of St. Patrick, originally a low-key r...

There was this guy who lived a long time ago.  He was not very fancy, probably not formally educated, but he made people think. Sometimes, he made people angry because he required them to think. You may have heard of … Continue reading →

Prayer for Dreaming A World Made Whole with Housing Justice Lover of the Birds who have their nests, Lover of the Foxes who have their dens, Lover of the Octopus who has its crevices in the sea, help us dream of a world where we have housing justice, where all...

“With another St. Patrick’s Day having come and gone, I ponder the calamities and the strengths of my heritage. To do other than persist would be to dishonor those who have gone before. Too many things matter for me to give up. Life is too precious for me to say die. If desperate action is … Continue reading Heritage

A reader had asked to see this box open, perhaps to see more about how it was made. The sides are joined with a hidden spline joint, and the parts of the lid are joined the same way... small pieces of wood fitted between parts, but that are not visible on the outside of the box. The hidden splines in the lid could be compared to the use of biscuits. To cut the grooves for the hidden splines, I use the jig shown. Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning lifewise.  

        Ah, the 17th of March. A day when most of the citizens of the good old US discover they’re Irish. Not a terrible thing. Not at all. But there’s an under appreciated saint due to having to share the date with super saint, Patrick. I first became aware of her because of, […]

Alan D.D. shares his recent experiences with panic attacks and the tarot spread he created to work alongside therapy to work through them. Continue reading The Tears of La Llorona – a tarot spread for mental health at The Wild Hunt.

Alan D. D. comparte sus experiencias recientes con ataques de pánico y la tirada de tarot que creó para trabajar junto con la terapia para superarlos. Continue reading Tarot: Las Lágrimas de La Llorona at The Wild Hunt.

One of my leisure-time projects for this year has been learning a bit of ukulele. So I’ve been watching a lot of videos of young ukulele players. And it suddenly occurred to me that many of the best young ukulele players are racially very diverse: Abe Lagrimas, Jr., Taimane Tauiliili Bobby Gardner, Rio Saito, Honoka … Continue reading "Random observation"

Please join us on Saturday (18 March 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 (18 March 2023)"

Clear Spring School has launched a new podcast and I am their first guest, answering questions about my "hobby". You can listen here:  https://open.spotify.com/show/7JUlnS3H22YNCjW9qBDB16?si=UM2cY7GjRvqXinfIYF81nw&fbclid=IwAR05Yj0zYktXHTWkU6IhUZJ47PtOtjfyzCIT3xnji3JM82lnFmrUf-kL09Y&nd=1 I leave this morning for Portland, Oregon where I'll spend 5 days with the Guild of Oregon Woodworkers. Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning lifewise.

Persistence is taking the next step, even if you are afraid. Even if you are scared. Trusting the universe over and over again to take care of you is courageous. -JeKaren Olaoya (CLF) How can you move forward in the face of fear?

Farm laborers from Dorset may have met under a tree to swear a secret oath to create a combination to raise wages and protect tenants. The fate of six farm laborers in Dorset and the huge protest and movement that their brutal transportation to Australia stirred are touchstones to the British labor movement.  The Tolpuddle Martyrs are widely celebrated in England as well as in the former penal colony where they were sent and in far off Canada.  Most Americans have never heard of them.  We aim to rectify that. In 1833 George Loveless, a Methodist lay preacher, and a respected leader among the farm laborers around the village of Tolpuddle in southern England, called a few of his matestogether. Legend has it that six of them met under a ...

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— “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the child of her womb? Yea they may forget, yet I will not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:15-16). These two verses are found in the Book of Isaiah, and they speak of the way in which Isaiah thinks God loves his people. Now, if you are able to maintain a belief that God exists and intervenes in the world in the way Isaiah seems to have believed, then these words will suffice and you won’t need ...

Storm Faerywolf reflects on the current wave of anti-trans legislation in the United States and uses the occasion to highlight trans and nonbinary Pagan creators. Continue reading Column: Recognizing Trans and Nonbinary Pagan Creators at The Wild Hunt.

Please join us next Tuesday (21 March 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.

On the way to the airport today my wife Jean and I listened to Nick Offerman's interview on the podcast, On Being with Krista Tippett. Anyone interested in woodworking would find pleasure in it. Anyone who enjoys working with their hands will find it of value. Please enjoy, as did I.  https://onbeing.org/programs/nick-offerman-working-with-wood-and-the-meaning-of-life/ The creation of useful beauty is essential to the human spirit, whether that beauty is found in the raising and preparation of food, the compassionate nursing of each other, or the making of boxes. I'm in the airport in Northwest Arkansas waiting for my flights to the Pacific Northwest. Make, fix and create. Assist others in learning lifewise.

Historian David Hackett Fisher’s latest book is titled African Founders: How Enslaved People Expanded American Ideas (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2022) In his discussion of the eighteenth century in French Louisiana, Fisher says: “The French know it well and say it best: plus la diversité, plus l’unité. In the age of the Enlightenment, David … Continue reading "Noted without comment"

Please join us on Sunday (19 March 2023) as we continue our new series in our our adult religious education class at 9:00 AM. Our adult religious education class is still meeting via Zoom. We have several persons in the adult religious education class who are new to our faith tradition and others who would … Continue reading "Online Adult Religious Education — 19 March 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 peace, social justice, and the interdependent web and these ideas connect to our Unitarian Universalist faith. Elementary class with Ash McLain and Kevin Henry will explore “Friendship with People Different from … Continue reading "Children and Youth Religious Education Classes — 19 March 2023"

Announcement of Special Congregational Meeting Date:  Sunday, 16 April 2023 Time:  Following the 11:00 AM worship service From:  Rovena Windsor, Board Secretary To:  All Active Members, Inactive Members, and Friends In accordance with the Bylaws of our church, and as Secretary of the Board, I hereby announce that All Souls will hold a Special Congregational … Continue reading "Announcement of Special Congregational Meeting (16 April 2023)"

Announcement of Special Congregational Meeting (16 April 2023) 2023 Pledge Drive — We Need Your Pledge Now

Please join us on Sunday (19 March 2023) at 11:00 AM for “Around Here, Still Waters Don’t Run at All” by Rev. Barbara Jarrell with special musical guests Cookie Garner and Sandra Odom.  This is a service celebrating the observance of World Water Day on 22 March 2023 We will be meeting in the sanctuary … Continue reading "All Ages Worship (19 March 2023)"

A newspaper photo in a local weekly paper taken at my job as head custodian of Briargate School in Cary, Illinois when my collection We Build Temples in the Heart  was published in 2004. It was a bitter and blustery day in McHenry County yesterday, much like one more than 20 years ago when I was walking to the train stationto get to work in the next town the line early one cold equinox morning when I was struck with this which was included in my 2004 Skinner Housecollection We Build Temples in the Heart . Resurrection   From that frigid morning      when the fog of humanity      hangs palpable before our faces      and that fat red sun pops      before our eyes at the far end of      the reaching blacktop, then, whe...

War metaphors can be useful, but eventually they break down and leave people asking “so now what?” For most of us, the answer is “live well.” If you aren’t someone the Church would have burned at the stake 500 years ago, are you really living?

Persistence is so extremely important, especially in trying times of division and hate in society.  Those who see justice and liberty as the foundations of a fair society must persist in reaching those goals even when the path is hard, or they are not personally affected by a particular injustice.  We all must put extra … Continue reading Division

Well, five days wasn’t enough. I am now at day 10 of covid and still testing positive. According to the guidelines, I could stop quarantining, but it doesn’t seem safe to really be around other people yet, even if I am wearing a good mask. I think I will wait until I get at least […]

Slowly but surely, our community regathers again after the pandemic. What does it take to draw a people back together? And how do we sustain the things that feed us?

Please bring a pot of soup, loaf of bread, or dessert to share. Volunteers are always welcome to help set up at 9:30 am and clean up after the luncheon. Questions contact Barb Fronzak (see church directory). 

A sermon reflecting on the proposed changes to Article II of the Bylaws of the Unitarian Universalist Association. The post The Living tradition appeared first on Colin Bossen.

Erick DuPree interviews Misha Magdalene, author of Outside the Charmed Circle: Exploring Gender and Sexuality in Magical Practice. Continue reading “Magic is queer and queerness is magic”: an interview with Misha Magdalene at The Wild Hunt.

Songs are emotions to me. Most of the time, I sing and smile and I feel good listening to my favorite songs. There are songs that make my life stop for a moment because of the sadness in my soul. … Continue reading →

  The  USS Langley  ( CV-1 ), the U.S. Navy's first aircraft carrier with her compliment of  Vought VE-7 Bluebird fighters.  When the USS Langley (CV-1) was officially commissioned on March 20, 1922, the United States Navy took a semi-timid step into its future.   The Langley was the first American aircraft carrier and the second in the world, after Britain’s primitive HMS Argus in 1918.   But the Navy was already behind the aggressive Japanese who had already finished and would commission in just months the Hōshō , the first ship built from the keel up to launch and retrieve combat aircraft.   By contrast the Langley , which was built on the hull of a decommissioned collier, was a slow, lumbering tub .   But then it’s eve...

“Sabr wa Iman Patience and faith Beloveds, we must have patience and faith More than that We need resilience, perseverance, and persistence” – from a poem by Summer Albayati How are patience and persistence related in your life?  

This gift article from the New York Times is about the manipulation of the American electorate through enlisting foreign participation in the defeat of Jimmy Carter. That may seem like a long time ago. It was not. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/18/us/politics/jimmy-carter-october-surprise-iran-hostages.html?unlocked_article_code=j7C-tYniotTTjl3_2qoLHV6zu8zHQlVc6GOwb6G30qowtCkfdbmykoiIhzBMW4iJ3ZzM6r2dEOwbFYnr2YZnmC8o_psWofMXjE6ermreFOUTAaXPA7cioXesIXeqeiL0nq-QaJ1JetjrIfnSrVS6Y29cA3r4IQiTVOljhcMImh535L9iWgMVnTnzhpZbsfA_8_r8PANQ_wvwVSwEqoUvmw_HXN0cPMrFuKEKLUMWwCXiNThyDcisVQyY4IPYEUx98BDUePnIvagxCdyw_O-BndIyTVKQznnvc7sJPzRTkaJIqnMujCHd02R1Rdhu5MBDlHDpbl64g9sxx8lR9NKXUP7nRr38paBJRcviMP3aAkskEitBuDjPmG0&smid=url-share In the meantime, school ...

Sing of the EAST, the realm of AIR,There gifts of sight and wisdom fair.Dancing March breeze on this blest morn.We celebrate the SPRING newly born. Sing of the SOUTH, where FIRE burns bright,There gifts of passion and ardent light.Length’ning warm days on this blest morn.We celebrate the SPRING newly born. Sing of the WEST, deep WATER clear,There gifts of health and love draw near,Flowing with life on this blest morn.We celebrate the SPRING newly born. Sing of the NORTH, and strength of EARTH.There gifts of life in joyous rebirth.Springing up green on this blest morn.We celebrate the SPRING newly born. […] The post Greeting the Spring appeared first on BeyondBelief.

This month's Green Sanctuary 2030 Community Meeting, Connecting with State Action Networks on Climate Advocacy, highlighted ways to engage with UU State Action Networks to advocate for policies that reduce emissions at the local, state, and national levels.  Special thanks to Deb Cruz from JUUstice Washington and Rev. Lisa Sampson-Garcia from UU Justice Ministry of North Carolina for leading the conversation!  UU State Action Networks do powerful justice work across the country, and they offer timely information on actions affecting your community, including:  Resources and research on justice issues. A community of like-minded folks you can activate for specific events. Support and guidance for getting your congregation involved in j...

Equinox blessings from The Wild Hunt! Continue reading Equinox Blessings from the Wild Hunt! at The Wild Hunt.

Jeff Milchen A Montclair coalition rallied the community to save the town’s first Black-owned home.

On Friday when I went for a walk in Whitney Woods here in Cohasset, the marshes were silent. On Saturday, I heard a chorus of frogs calling from a couple of marshes and one vernal pool. When I returned on Sunday, the temperature had dropped 20 degrees, from about 54 degrees to the mid-30s. There … Continue reading "Spring chorus"

  Pocahontas imagined as a Powhatan "princess" with facial features based on her from life 1616 English portrait. On March 21, 1617 Rebecca Rolfe, the 22 year old wifeof John died, probably of smallpox or pneumonia, in Englandleaving behind an infant son, Thomas.  This incident, while tragic was so common that it would hardly be remembered today except for Rebecca’s maiden name—Pocahontas.   She was born about 1598 in what is now Virginia , the daughter of Wahunsunacah, principal chief of a network of Algonquian speaking tribesand known by the ceremonial title of Powhatan .   Her birth name was Matoaka.                                                                                ...

I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain. James Baldwin Recently, I went with a friend to the Museum … Continue reading →

A weed is a wildflower in a place where it is unwanted. Let us cultivate the wildness to let the weeds persist. -Michael Tino (CLF) How can you cultivate wildness today?

I'm in Portland, Oregon with the Guild of Oregon Woodworkers, making boxes. We have twelve students and studio assistants.  We're making lift lid boxes, hinged boxes, and today will begin making sliding lid boxes. I'm having a great time. They have a new teaching classroom equipped with benches and power tools, allowing them to hold classes without interrupting other guild activities. The Guild is a wonderful resource for anyone of any skill level with a desire to learn and grow. If you are in the Portland area and feel a need to connect with others, you'll find the Guild welcoming you. I noticed that they are also preparing for a visit with Mary May, my favorite American woodcarver. Tonight I'll make a presentation at the monthly guild...

      Rosie the Riveter as an Icon of Human Possibility In 2017 the US Congress designated today, the 21st of March as National Rosie the Riveter Day. Of course it is now well more than three quarters of a century since the Second World War, even my cohort, the children of those who […]

U.S. border policies only reinforce xenophobia, racism, and intolerance. 

The Hudson-Mohawk region Unitarian Universalists will gather for a joint worship service on Sunday, April 23, in the beautiful chapel space at the Doane Stuart School in Troy. The service begins at 10:30 am. Carpool or use public transit if you are able, and know ... read more . The post Annual regional UU worship service Sunday April 23rd, with special guest Leah Penman appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

What 16th Century religious leader originated the principles of modern Unitarian Universalism during the Protestant Reformation? How did these religions that originated in Europe come to America, and what 4 US founding fathers attended UU services? How did a large number of remarkable women play a role in ... read more . The post Learn about UU History (in person OR online) appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

The LGBTQ group will have its first meeting on March 24, 2023 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM in the UUSS Fireplace Room. The purpose of the group is to create a space for the UU LGBTQ community to come together. If interested in learning more, please contact Jen Pritchard at  ... read more . The post UUSS LGBTQ Group First Meeting this Friday, March 24th! appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Children in Kindergarten through 6 th grade will start in the Great Hall for the first part of the service. Afterwards, they will meet in their own rooms: Wonderful Welcome (K-3 rd grade) in the classroom next to the dining room Love Connects Us (4 th -6 ... read more . The post Religious Education on March 26th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

In this week's Pagan Community Notes: The Philly Pentacle, a death at Serpent Mound site, Fredrick Pagan Pride Day seeks volunteers, and more news and announcements. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of March 21, 2023 at The Wild Hunt.

Taken with a Fuji X100V using Øyvind Nordhagen’s OWH Darkness Fujifilm recipe Just click on a photo to enlarge it.  Taken back in February, towards the end of the working day.

One of the things that can bring on a rapid experience of vulnerability is an unexpected change. We all know that “things change” and “the only constant in life is change” and “if you don’t like the weather here, just … Continue reading →

The phrase “age is just a number” is often thrown out in an attempt to comfort or to challenge those of us who feel limited because of our age. But it’s not exactly true. How old do you feel? How old do you act? How old do you want to be?

I so admire the persistence of the animals in my life. If there’s a need, they will let me know I need to meet it presently, and directly. I hope I can be as articulate and forceful with my boundaries and needs. Nina, my puppy, asks for what she needs, without the notion that our … Continue reading Puppy Persistence

Yesterday I finished a two day box making class with the Guild of Oregon Woodworkers, a total of 36 boxes having been made. Students were pleased, as was I, not only by the numbers and quality of boxes having been made but by the learning that took place. Last night I was the presenter at the monthly Guild meeting and had a great, attentive  audience. There are some very important things that the hands do. They support wisdom and health within families. They support the development of community. They sustain and advance human culture. They support mental health. They assist as we learn to care for each other. They help us to distinguish between that which is real and that which is made to deceive us. Make, fix and create... Today I begi...

 Marking the third anniversary of the COVID lockdown, I'm using this blog to reflect on this time and to point towards the audio archive Doorstep Revolution, a project I was part of putting together as part of Gentle/Radical. The second episode reflects on dreams of community, how people expressed desires for a greater sense of local community in Riverside. It was those moments of staying at home

Regular readers of this little blog know that we like to highlightthe innovations and inventions that have improved the world and made America great.   Take, for instance, the example of the late 20th Century waterbed which was introduced as a class project by design student Charles Prior Hall at San Francisco State University in March of 1968.  At the height of its popularity 19 years later in 1987 nearly one quarter of all mattresses sold in the U.S. were waterbeds. In the late spring of 1971, I took off on one of the great adventures of my young life—hitch hiking from Chicago to the Bay Area of California.  From there, I was to work my way up the Pacific Coast hopping freight trains on an old fashion soap box speaking tour for t...

Lynette Yetter My intuition became honed, for safety and survival. Continue reading "Trusting Intuition"

Back in 1970s, while still in high school, I was really into topographic maps. I tried making topo maps of parts of Concord, Massachusetts, where I then lived. This was back in the days of drawing with pen and ink on paper, so making maps was challenging and fun. I remember reading somewhere about what … Continue reading "Mapping sea level rise"

Staff Writer Six UU organizations release joint statement committing to respond to climate-forced displacement.

By Esha Chhabra | Unable to put all the secondhand clothes to use, Patricia Ermecheo, [who has been in the business of recycling trash for the past decade], began thinking about how to break down this clothing and turn it into yarn, ready to be spun into a new garment. That could create more systemic change in the industry.

The 2023 UN Water Report outlines the dire future with limited water access, with water scarcity becoming endemic, underlining the urgency for global cooperation to ensure safe access to water for everyone. Continue reading “Water Wars:” UNESCO report highlights “vampiric” global water use at The Wild Hunt.

READING The Anointing Woman   Mark 14 + Matthew 26: 6-13 SERMON “The Anointing” Rev. Dr. Victoria Weinstein 2002 The global Christian community enters Holy Week today, the drama of the final days of Jesus of Nazareth’s life, his last meal with his closest community of disciples, his betrayal and arrest, his sham trial, his crucifixion. … Continue reading "Palm Sunday Sermon: Anointing Woman"

  Focus: Ival Stratford Kovner  Spirituality , Skekhinah Reflection When I consider Women Explore, I always recall with such a memorable sensation of a clear communal experience the day I spoke to this group in the Democracy Center. Today I would dare to call this the presence of the “Shekhinah” within our group consciousness.     What would allow description when words tend to mute the actual experience?   I shared my Torah portion from my adult Bat Mitzvah wrapped in my tallit.  For me, chanting Hebraic verses among others gathered  summons the Shekhinah. I might further describe the Shekhinah’s presence as preventing panic and high tension in  near death situation.   Why was the shared glance towards one another so...

You only have to read the headlines to realize we are surrounded by vulnerability. Democratic principles are being challenged nationally and globally as strongmen governments gain traction. Our environmental clock is ticking as our planet suffers from rising temperatures and … Continue reading →

The passenger car installed by Elijah Otis on Broadway in 1857 was not as elaborate as this post-Civil War model, but it did the job. On March 23, 1857 Elijah Graves Otis, a former itinerant Yankee jack-of-all-trades and tinkerer turned entrepreneur installed his first successful commercial passenger elevator in a four story building at 488 Broadway in New York City.  After that, you should pardon the expression, Otis’s fortunes were on the way up as sales for his invention took off. The lift made large scale multi-story industrialand commercial buildings practical.  In a few more decades it would be critical to the development of the skyscraper.  Otis’s invention was not so much the lift itself—various kinds had been in limited...

“Forebears who led the way where there was, at first, no way, lend us your persistence, your temerity, your assurance that the moral arc of the universe does, indeed, bend towards justice.” -Karen G. Johnston What lessons are the ancestors teaching you today?

Does Paul Quote Jesus? A Quick Look &a Fascinating Observation James Ishmael Ford Someone recently observed in my hearing that Paul never quotes Jesus in his collected and published letters. I was caught by that observation and decided to dig into it. I proceeded to unravel a couple of facts out of the mess of […]

The performance of the Eleusinian Mysteries in Eleusis draws inspiration from traditions that have their roots in ancient Greece, offering modern Pagans a window to the past in the celebration of Spring. Continue reading The Eleusinian Mysteries at The Wild Hunt.