The following are the top ten best books I’ve read since this time last year–in alphabetical order by the author’s last name because agonizing over a precise order would take all the fun out of remembering these books: Brothers in the Beloved Community: The Friendship of Thich Nhat Hanh and Martin Luther King Jr. by Marc […]

There were eleven new species discovered in 2023, and 21 were declared extinct, and NASA discovered six new exoplanets. With all this, the mysteries of the universe still sit at our door. I often question our exploration and the humans … Continue reading →

The Top 10 posts of 2023 on Under the Ancient Oaks: divination, a Storm Goddess, Pagan clothing and jewelry, and a lot about the conflicts going on in this world and in the Otherworld.

                                                                    Kwanzaa song Harambee by Rita Marley. Today is the second day of Kwanzaa which was created in 1966 during the blossoming of a period of Black Nationalism by Maulana Karenga , a Black studies scholar and a leading Los Angeles militant who was born Ron Everett in Parsonsburg, Maryland on July 14, 1941 Beginning on December 26 and running through January 1, candles are lit representing African values.   Each of the values is given a Swahili name.   Today is day two— Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): “To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.” Kwanzaa was meant to be a family centered...

Starting with the George Floyd protests in 2020, we began hearing calls to defund police. Police departments, so the thinking went, mostly served White interests, and thus tended to support White supremacy. This argument may have been valid, but it ignored other interests that have controlled police departments in the U.S. “On May 28, 1937, … Continue reading "Police departments vs. labor"

Photo taken with a Fuji X100V using Øyvind Nordhagen’s Kodak Ektar 100 Recipe   Click on the photo to enlarge

Today is my dad’s birthday. For many years, his story got forgotten in the story of the holidays happening at this time of year. While we try to make his birthday special, it will always be at Christmas time. -Michael Tino (CLF) What are your stories that are too often forgotten?

TWH's editor-in-chief Manny Tejeda Moreno responds to Rabbi Wolpe's atrocious attack on Paganism in the pages of "The Atlantic." Continue reading Editorial: “The Atlantic” publishes another attack on Pagans. Where are Pagan voices in its pages? at The Wild Hunt.

Every family has their secrets. The not so big one on my mom’s side was that she had a child out of wedlock and gave him up for adoption. I found this out when I was about 7 or 8 … Continue reading →

Today I offer two gift articles from the New York Times related to the hands and the wonders they bring. One involves knitting and the other blacksmithing. Both, while one is noisy and the other not, offer solace to the soul. Make, fix and create...

The Irish Rovers' popular and a little rowdy Good King Wenceslas earns them a warming drink reward in this video. Today is the second day of the 12 Days of Christmas, a day with multiple personalities as we will see.   We will celebrate with an English carol about a Bohemian princeling/saint. The Brits and the residents of other former pink blotches on Queen Victoria ’s globe spend today, Boxing Day , storming the malls and shops on what is usually the busiest retail sales day of the year. Disgruntled gift recipients hit the refund and exchange desks and others spent the gift cards and even old fashion cash.    But unlike most Yanks they do it on an official National Holiday as a paid day off.   Officially December 26 is just anoth...

This is a song I wrote in college in 1982. Since then I’ve been married, worked for 38 years before retiring, and raised 3 children with my best friend in this world. We had no clue what we would become … Continue reading →

Every Christmas EveFor the rest of my careerI will preach about the yearI cried through the entireChristmas Eve service. Every lesson,Every carolAccompanied by quiet sobsWho chose their sacred momentTo proclaim the truthThat set them free –Grief takes no holidays. Some ChristmasesAre just sad ones,And that’s ok –You can crythrough the entire service.Just don’t you dareLeaveUntil […]

Readings: Homily Homily – Choosing to Love, Anyway  In Bethlehem tonight, the usual extravagant Christmas celebrations have been canceled. In place of Glorias echoing across the land, there is war and grief, all across Palestine and Israel, and in Gaza. As the … Continue reading →

We have waited, hopeful, for the birth of love into the world. We have waited, hopeful, for the birth of joy and peace. Let every heart now prepare them room. Let heaven and nature sing the good news of the arrival of something new. We have arrived here as weary travelers longing for a rest, … Continue reading Birthing Peace

        “Nature and nature’s laws lay hid in night; God said ‘Let Newton be” and all was light.” Alexander Pope Me, I like Christmas. Actually I love it. But here I am in the early hours of Christmas day. And my thoughts drift in several ways.. For one. We’ll be celebrating the […]

                                                                      Go Tell it on the Mountain sung by the Blind Boys of Alabama. Of all the announcement carols Go Tell It On the Mountain is unusual for a number of reasons.   It is not European but rooted in the American Black Community and dated to the era when the end of slavery flourished.   It is not an announcement by the Heavenly Hosts, but an instruction to a whole people to spread the good word.   And because of its connections to the Civil Rights Movement , it doubles as a Christmas Carol and a liberation anthem . Watch Night when African-Americans gathered on New Year's Eve to greet the news of the Emancipation Proclamation.   Man...

We seem to live in troubled times, and yet when we take matters into our own creative hands, things seem to fall into a better place. It might be easy to fall into despair, but it's also easy to surrender to the help and companionship of friends.  Lacking friends at hand, your own hands can be your friends, luring you into a meditative state.  I have found that I've been given a great gift in that I'm given the opportunities  to teach, both through my books and articles and through classes. When we empower others to discover their own creativity, expressed in the making useful beauty we are helping to create the world of peace and joy that all long for.  Along with season’s greetings and holiday cheer, I’m imagining all the wonde...

                                                                      Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. Our first Christmas Day carol is my own personal favorite .   I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day is unusual in that there is no reference to the Christ child , manger , Holy Family, shepherds , Magi , or even the Herald Angels .   Instead, it focuses on the message of those angels amid the ghastly carnage of war.   It was written not by famed Unitarian hymnist Samuel Longfellow , but by his brother Henry Wadsworth Longfellow , then America ’ s most honored and adored poet who had created national epics like The Courtship of Miles Standish , The Song of Hiawat...

PLEASE NOTE: THERE IS NO MORNING SERVICE TODAY Join us for our annual Christmas Eve tradition of story and song, followed by a Christmas cookie reception in the Fellowship Hall

While I’ve come to accept that sometimes the Pagan community just doesn’t care about something as much as I do, there are times when I find myself screaming “this is important! Why are you not reading this?!”

Mi homilía de Nochebuena (2023). The post Homilía de Nochebuena (2023) appeared first on Colin Bossen.

This is not a subtle film. This is like Game of Thrones without a hint of subtlety and stranger accents. Continue reading The Pagan King: a Latvian medieval epic loaded with Pagan imagery at The Wild Hunt.

“If you came to this place expecting a tame story, you came to the wrong place. If you came for a story that does not threaten you, you came for a different story than the one we tell. If you came to hear of the coming of a God who only showed up so that … Continue reading Which Story?

                                                         Luciano Pavarotti singing Adeste Fideles in 1978. Note —We need another for Christmas Eve.   After the brief serenity for   Mary, Joseph, and the infant comes the noisy hullabaloo of the Announcement carols. Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful ) is one of the most exuberant of announcement carols and is a perennial favorite for both choir performance and congregational singing at Christmas Eve services .   It is based on two Old Testament verses said to foretell the coming of the Messiah— Psalm 98, 96:11-12 and Genesis 3:17-18 but like other popular carols it is sung as if it is an announcement of the birth of Christ by angels on high. My...

        The Christmas Truce was a minor bit of passive resistance on the Western front in the First World War. Which was at the time called the Great War, and to our tastes terribly ironic, War to End all Wars. In 1914 English, French, and German troops paused in the battle. A […]

                                                       Silent Night sung by Boney M. By far the most beloved and sung of all Western Christmas carols is Silent Night .   It will be sung tonight at Catholic midnight masses, candlelight services like the Tree of Life ’ s in McHenry, by hardy carolers in neighborhood streets, in many versions on Holiday radio, and in family rooms around the Christmas tree. Two hundred and five years ago Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht was first performed at St. Nicholas parish church in the village Oberndorf on the Salzach River in the Austrian Empire.   Today Silent Night is by far the most popular traditional Christmas carol in the English speaking world and has been trans...

In the wood shop at ESSA I'm beginning a table making project. What I hope will be the end results are shown in the drawing. There will be four that will go in our Commons house that is used for meetings and for guest teachers to gather after hours. They can be arranged individually or assembled as a group for board meetings, and it's all part of the steady growth of our school. The four columns supporting the table tops are made using birdmouth joints commonly used in boat building to make hollow spars and masts. They are 6 sided and hollow so that steel rods can pass through, and so that lighter material can be used. The feet will rest on pads made from high density plastic that will keep moving them from marring the floor.  To start,...

                                                           It Came Upon a Midnight Clear sung by Ella Fitzgerald. Note—Both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day deserve bonus two-fer entries! In churches around the world this evening announcement carols will be central to the services.    Many are bold and glorious whether sung by massed choirs or by congregations that know them by heart.   Adeste Fideles ( O Come All Ye Faithful ) and the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel ’ s Messiah are two of the grander examples, although there are plenty of others in Christmas song books, but my personal favorite is much more modest. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear is one of the oldest and most beloved of American Chri...

Please join us on Sunday night (24 December 2023) at 6:30 PM for our Christmas Eve candlelight worship service (if your children want to participate in the “Twelve Days of Christmas” song, please bring them by 6:00 PM for a short rehearsal). We will sing the carols with the original words, hear the Christmas Story … Continue reading "Christmas Eve Candlelight Service (24 December 2023)"

Please join us on Sunday (24 December 2023) at 11:00 AM for our Sunday morning worship service.  On the fourth Sunday of Advent, we will have a simpler service. There will be no children and youth religious education on this Sunday — all ages are welcome in the worship service and holiday busy bags will … Continue reading "All Ages Worship (24 December 2023)"

This Sunday (24 December 2023) will be an intergenerational worship service. There will be no children and youth religious education classes happening during the worship service time. Our children and youth will be staying in the sanctuary for the worship service.

Our weekly 9:00 AM Sunday adult religious education classes will be taking a break for the next two Sundays — no class on 24 and 31 December 2023. We will have some special programming on 7 and 14 January 2024 — watch our website and social media announcements for updates.

Please join us next Wednesday (27 December 2023) at 12 noon for our weekly Zoom lunch. Our weekly Zoom lunch is 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.

Back in 1845, Thomas Commuck published a book of sacred songs titled “Indian Melodies.” Commuck called his book that because he was a member of the Brothertown Indian Nation. In the introduction, referring to himself in the third person, he tells why his published his book: “his object is to make a little money.” To … Continue reading "An unusual Christmas carol"

A reader emailed me saying that he had been prevented from entering a comment by my captcha plugin (Simple Cloudflare Turnstile); he got a message saying he had to verify he was human but was not given a problem to solve. Reading the online forum for this plugin on WordPress.org reveals that others have had … Continue reading "More problems with captchas"

The British Museum has announced a new £50 million partnership with the oil company BP after an apparent break between the two institutions earlier this year. Continue reading British Museum and British Petroleum are bedfellows again at The Wild Hunt.

Here we are together each facing our different human tasks or maybe the same central one: to embrace the lessons life delivers to discern and respond as we grow to refuse harm and cherish flourishing May we know ourselves as vessels of infinite possibility Holders of each other’s heartaches and tales of joy alike weavers … Continue reading Weavers

          A student of the intimate asked the master Huguo, “What about when every drop of water has become ice?” The master replied, “It will be shameful once the sun has arisen.” Book of Serenity The heart of Zen meditation, what makes it go, is samadhi. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, samadhi […]

My essay in the Front Porch Republic will be published in mid January, so in the meantime I'm reviewing material for a second essay that I hope will find a home in another publication. It is interesting how deep the resources are that promote hands-on learning over the lecture style teaching that we normally subject students to. It is shameful what we put students through in school. That such boredom is acceptable illustrates how little we value human culture and our kids and the development of their minds.  Lecture based learning is proven to be strikingly ineffective, and yet, in schools teachers and administrations persist for they are given little opportunity to  make the changes that are most necessary. This snippet from an articl...

Nativity Scene by Eiichi Kotozuka (1906-1979) A Christmas Day meditation offered to the Cambridge Unitarian Church (Click on this link to hear a recorded version of the following piece) —o0o— Imaoka Shin’ichirō  (1881-1988) was a living legend in Japan who influenced the development of progressive and liberal religion in that country and who was also one of the key figures in the founding of the “yuniterian” [sic] movement there. He was also a key figure in the inter-faith organisation called the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF), and in a recent biography about him by George M. Williams, he has been described as being “a Bodhisattva-Kami-Christian-Unitarian-sage — the Emerson of Japan.” He was so...

This image was produced by ChatGPT 4 after asking it to produce a black and white drawing of an empty manger standing alongside a manger with a small child lying in it that could accompany this Christmas Eve Meditation A short  “ thought for the day” offered to the Cambridge Unitarian Church as part of the Sunday Service of Mindful   Meditation.   (A recorded version of the following piece can be heard at this link)  —o0o— Back in March [2023] I listened to a Financial Times podcast on the subject of quantum computing because I was interested in understanding, as much as a non-mathematician and physicist can, what the basic difference is between a classical computer and a quantum computer. To help people like me, Madhumita ...

The 1953 Columbia re-recording was featured on this LP ad is the one most commonly heard on Christmas radio. American kids have their own category of secular Christmas songs , most centering on or around that Jolly Old Elf a/k/a Santa Clause , St . Nick , Kris Kringle , etc. You have to forgive the greedy little buggers for not focusing on the birth of a baby and the whole savior and Messiah thing .   A fat guy with a bag full of toys and flying reindeer trump all the Holy stuff .   The songs include ditties like Jolly Old St. Nicholas , Santa Claus is Coming to Town , and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer .   And the most successful singer of such songs was cowboy crooner Gene Autry who became the children ’ s Bing Crosby in the post-...

Some of us have gone numb and non-functional; others are deep in the season and lighting candles, decorating trees, celebrating the return of the Sun, and practicing so many other traditions and acts of faith and love that this writer cannot name them all. I, myself, am holding space in the in-between this year. Continue reading Hard Candy Christmas at The Wild Hunt.

Please join us on Saturday (23 December 2023) at 10:30 AM for our weekly meditation group with Larry Androes. This group will be meeting via Zoom and not in person. 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 … Continue reading "Meditation with Larry Androes (23 December 2023)"

“My struggle to find a solid identity is also true for other parts of me—as an artist, a pagan, and a person—as if everything that’s led me here are only interruptions and obstacles, instead of part of what makes me the more whole person I am today. The shift, for me, occurred by telling my … Continue reading Finding Identity Through Story

Sunday, December 24 at 7:00 p.m. Christmas Eve Candlelight Service with Live Harp Music by Jessica Siegel Celebrate the spirit of Christmas in a family worship service that honors the life and teachings of Jesus. Sing your favorite Christmas carols, enjoy beautiful harp music, and experience the beauty and peace of our annual candle-lighting ceremony. “And   [ … ] The post Sunday, December 24 ~ Christmas Eve Candlelight Service ~ 7:00 p.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

                                                                 Dar Williams performs her song The Christians and the Pagans live. Note — One more for the convergence of neo-pagan Winter Solstice observations and Christmas. Back in 2012 my wife Kathy and I splurged on a then rare night out to take in a concert teaming Loudin Wainwright III and feminist/lesbian folkie Dar Williams .   Wainwright was the draw for us.   I was only dimly aware of Williams and don’t think I had ever heard one of her songs.   She ended up blowing us away.   And one of her most memorable songs was The Christians and The Pagans .   Like many of her compositions it was autobiographical about she and her lesbian lov...

For the past twenty-odd years, ever since I was old enough to truly ponder it, the mystery of the meaning of life has taken up a fair amount of space in my mind. My emotions surrounding this big unknown (that … Continue reading →

For a Solstice treat, Margy and I went to Kettle Cove beach a little before sunset. Santa was gathering seaweed for the garden. Now you might not think Santa would be out on Solstice, but the ancient European pagans laid claim to this gentle gift-giver from the north much before St. Nicholas. In fact, in […]

                  Here we are, rushing toward Christmas. For various reasons, I find myself thinking of Charles Dickens and particularly his wonderful novella, A Christmas Carol. Some of my friends actually read the original story, a few even aloud, annually. Others watch one of the many film versions. […]

Earlier this month, we featured a reflection by CLF’s Rose Gallogly about writing her own Winter Solstice Story. Rose has kindly shared the story with all of us–it is linked below. Each time a new being was introduced to the world, the Moon whispered to them: “Remember always that this world works in cycles. There … Continue reading Turn the Year Around

For the past 30 years, Mount Auburn Cemetery has hosted an evening Solstice event, and it has become enough a fixture of the local holiday season in Boston that tickets for those nights sell out fairly quickly. What began as … Continue reading →

Solstice blessings form The Wild Hunt! We share a round-up of events, music, and happenings. Continue reading December Solstice Blessings from The Wild Hunt at The Wild Hunt.

This simple sliding book rack is made of white oak. Years ago I'd done an article about making them in Woodwork Magazine, and some of my students from the Clear Spring School will remember having made some similar in class. In fact some students may still have them. I'd started work on these years ago, having cut out the parts, and rather than letting the wood go to waste, I decided to finish them. Making them would be a good two day class, introducing students to a variety of tools and woodworking strategies. We are down to just a few woodworking days before Christmas. At this time next year I'lll be making grandfatherly toys for Sylvie. In the meantime, let's all remember that we learn best hands on, and that reading (acquisition of kn...

What was it like to live in far earlier times of awe and wonder? Given the present season my thoughts went to the ancient mystery of the Seasons. When and how did humans becomeaware of the periodic movements of the … Continue reading →

                                                                          Ring Out Solstice Bells by Jethro Tull Call it Solstice, Yule, Meán Geimhridh, or any name you choose, to it is the shortest day and longest night of the year—the official beginning of winter. Tomorrow the Sun begins its annual return. Despite claims otherwise, Solstice is the Reason for the Season—the overt or disguised inspiration of most Northern Hemisphere Festivals of Light clustered around this date. To celebrate we turn to Jethro Tull’s classic 1977 album Songs from the Woods , Ian Anderson’s turn from jazz-infused rock to an embrace of his English roots and folk identities is a fitting carol for the day. ...

Exvangelicals are forming “spiritual collectives” — which have superficial resemblance to Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregations, because they’re LGBTQ+ friendly, open to non-Christian sources of wisdom, and don’t have doctrines or dogmas. There are also big differences. Exvangelical spiritual collectives have a different worship style. Their preachers are more likely to do their preaching (which they … Continue reading "What exvangelicals do instead of church"

Researchers find Roman temples in modem-day Germany with a sacrificial space that raise questions about the nature of offerings to the gods and spirits. Continue reading Roman temples found with and a sacrificial pit researchers say at The Wild Hunt.

Dark academia and secret societies, free will and fate. Witches, vampires, Tarot, and poison. What would you do to make your dreams a reality? Here are the top five novels I read in 2023.

In this Advent season, the nativity story is depicted in tableaus around the world: in town squares, church yards, and even in the front lawns of homes. The story of the birth of the baby Jesus, a central figure in the Christian faith, is also the story of a brown-skinned, Middle Eastern, Jewish refugee born … Continue reading Old Story, New Perspective

When the world was very young, there were not yet any seasons. There were not even any days — the Sun and the Moon shared the sky in harmony, quietly watching over the world together.

 With the addition of a plexiglass box to keep the innards safe, my reliquary of wood has been added to the Museum of Eureka Springs Art museum display.  The reliquary was inspired by a reliquary in the Nelson Atkins Museum in Kansas City and by my participation in  a shrine show (sponsored by ESSA) in which artists were invited to create shrines celebrating the things important in their own lives.  The idea of a reliquary is to lift as important things that should be treasured. The reliquary in the Nelson Atkins Museum once held the bones of a saint. My reliquary has 25 turned samples of American (Arkansas) hardwoods, each in their natural color. It is a statement of value. The box itself is made of sugar maple. Some may remember a ...

Marcus Liefert Fear not, the angels would text me. Hallelujah, I’d write back. Continue reading "Fear Not and Hallelujah"

I love Hallmark Channel Christmas Movies. I am radically accepting, a feminist, reproductive justice activist, reality believer, political junkie, and…. I still love Hallmark Channel Christmas Movies. They are romantic nonsense. AND, they are total fun. They also help remind … Continue reading →

 Taken with a Fuji X-T2 (with a SMC Pentax-M 1:1.7 50mm lens) using the Fuji Astia recipe Just click on the photo to enlarge

  The Holly and the Ivy-- The Mediæval Bæbes   As we approach Solstice Eve it is the perfect occasion to showcase one of those traditional English carols that mix pagan imagery with just a light dusting of Christianity.   The Holly and the Ivy may be the loveliest of this genre which usually tends to festivity and were often used in street song begging or wassailing . The origin of the song is suspected of being quite old but is lost to the midst of time, probably like so many customs suppressed by Oliver Cromwell’s Puritan   ascendancy and his attack on “Papist and pagan” Christmas. The earliest published versions of the carol date to the early 19th Century when there was something of fad for collecting folk songs.   Severa...

Io Saturnalia! The holiday is well underway in many quarters including the UK and and especially in Rome. Continue reading Io Saturnalia: Releasing Saturn and a roundup of events at The Wild Hunt.

This Christmas Eve, All Souls Unitarian Church extends a warm invitation to everyone, no matter where you are on your spiritual journey, to join us for a day of celebration, reflection, and community. From a thoughtful morning service to the joyful candlelight services in the evening, our doors are open to all who wish to share in the spirit of this special day. Morning Service Time: 10:30 AM We’ll have one service Sunday morning at 10:30 AM. Our morning service offers a serene start to Christmas Eve, with a message from Revered Randy Lewis. After the service, we invite everyone […] The post Christmas Eve At All Souls: What You Need To Know appeared first on BeyondBelief.

Generosity is one of our UU values. The Article II Study Commission notes, “We cultivate a spirit of gratitude and hope. We covenant to freely and compassionately share our faith, presence, and resources. Our generosity connects us to one another in relationships of interdependence and ... read more . The post December Theme: Unexpected Gifts appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

This past Sunday, it was lovely to celebrate the approaching Winter Solstice in worship, as the room was slowly darkened, until we drummed back the light. When the lights were very low, Wendy invited us into a practice sometime in the coming week. To sit,  alone, or ... read more . The post Co-Ministers’ Colloquy – Dec. 19th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

On December 6, Side With Love joined the American Friends Service Committee for a webinar to hear from the organizers, activists, and other professionals accomplishing the transformational work of abolition - from combatting exploitative fines and fees to decarcerating architecture. With the construction of Atlanta's Cop City looming overhead and the demands of the 2020 uprisings as of yet unrealized, a world beyond policing and incarceration can seem unreachable. But while still an unmet ideal, the foundation for an abolitionist world is being built by those who remain dedicated to dismantling and replacing an entrenched system which promises safety while producing the opposite. In the face of state repression and Draconian policies uph...

The Quran, the holy Scripture of Islam, contains a telling of the birth of Jesus (Issa) that is different from those stories in the Christian Scriptures in interesting ways. In the Quran, Mary is alone, under a date palm, and the story includes the pain of her childbirth; the infant Jesus is endowed with speech … Continue reading Same Story, Different Story

When the kids were younger and still at home there were so many traditions that brought us into the Holy Days…. Decorating, cookie baking, photo ornaments, and gifts. We took out the holiday dishes and napkins. We went to church. … Continue reading →

                                                       Winter Wonderland sung by Tony Bennett. There is no snow on the ground here in northern Illinois and temperatures have been unseasonably warm—daytime in the 40’s for more than a week.   Other parts of the country, however, have been buried in all of the Winter Wonderland they can stand.   Time to revisit this classic pop winter song and let the great Tony Bennett give it her swinging interpretation. Winter Wonderland was written in 1934 by Felix Bernard and lyricist Richard B. Smith. Since its original RCA recording by Richard Himber and his Hotel Ritz-Carlton Orchestra, it has been covered by over 200 different artists, including Bing Crosby, D...

                                                               The Anniversary Waltz  sung by Vera Lynn. We interrupt the seasonal songs of Winter Holidays Music Festival for a more private celebration if you don’t mind.   Forty two years ago, on a below zero December 19, 1981 at Chicago ’ s St. Francis Xavier Church on the North Side Kathy Brady-Larsen, a young widow, consented to marry beneath her.   The groom was a scruffy no-account with dim prospects named Patrick Murfin. That summer we had renewed an old acquaintance at Consumer ’ s Tap on Lincoln Avenue .   We had a nodding acquaintance a decade earlier while I was on the staff of the Chicago Seed and she was a 17 year old Seed stree...

Some people are living in the past. Specifically, some people apparently think it’s still the 1970s. So I’m volunteering on a task force for a UU nonprofit that is trying to figure out how to offer safe youth programming. As part of the research we’ve been doing on youth safety, I’ve been looking at some … Continue reading "Youth safety"

In this week's Pagan Community Notes: Art Contest Deadline, update on Pagan Elder Diana Paxson, Ásatrúarfélagið releases a statement on the Israel-Hamas war, Cherry Hill announces professor of the year and Hypatia award recipient, more announcements and Shavo. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of December 18, 2023 at The Wild Hunt.

I received two planes from Lee Valley today, left and right plow planes of a smaller size suggested for box making. Like other Veritas planes made by Lee Valley, they are works of art. The crafting of them is exquisite. Plow planes are used for cutting grooves in wood but can also form beads and coves. In box making you can imagine using them to cut grooves for inlay, or for bottoms to fit. With other cutters installed, beaded edges or panels could add interest to a lovely box. The tight curls of walnut behind the plane in the photo below were formed in my first test use of the right handed plane. These are lovely in their design and perfect in their manufacture. They can be ordered here. Make, fix and create...

In his book The Seven Basic Plots, Christopher Booker suggests there are seven ‘core’ plots that most stories follow: a journey taken and the return, overcoming challenges, making our way in the world, a quest, comedy, tragedy, and rebirth. -Lori Stone (CLF) Have you ever wondered in what section of the library you would find … Continue reading Re-Shelving Your Story

It is raining here in the northeast and the wind is blowing mightily, with gusts past 50 miles per hour. This healthy spruce tree suddenly fell down from its very roots. I was inside and heard something, but didn’t realize what had happened until I poked my nose out the door. Thankfully, it just missed […]

            “A non-Buddhist visited the great sage and said, “I don’t ask about the way of words, I don’t as about avoiding words. The Buddha sat quietly. Witnessing this, the non-Buddhist exhulted, “No wonder you’re the world honored one. Out of your compassion and mercy, you have parted the clouds […]

I think that in any religion there are those who embrace their faith with authenticity and with what we might characterize as curiosity, courage and compassion. In other words, they hold to their faith with open minds and hearts.  There … Continue reading →

                                                       Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas  by Judy Garland in  Meet Me in St. Louis. We are closing in on the big day and it’s way past time to honor the greatest performance of a modern secular Christmas song ever.   Period. No arguments.   The crown goes to Judy Garland singing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas to Margaret O ’ Brien in the 1944 film classic Meet Me in St. Louis. In some ways the part of the second daughter Esther of the comfortably middle class St . Louis Smith family was a step back for Garland to the juvenile parts where she had gained fame.   She had finally broken through being cast as a young woman in Presenting Lill...

Reading – a combination of Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg’s 2022 and 2023 Hanukah reflections, which end with this reflection Hanukah isn’t just about what happened in the past, on the calendar. It’s about who we are capable of being. It’s about … Continue reading →

That’s a trick title, because I have gone to a grand total of two church services in my six months of sabbatical. I’m rather ashamed to admit it, but it’s true. I had a plan to go to the San Francisco services fairly regularly once we were back from our summer travels, a plan that […]

Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights calls us into bold action for those seeking asylum.

Now a year's worth of cinnamon, nutmeg, or black pepper, can be acquired for less than a day's wages, brought halfway round the world in hours or days on a journey that once took months, fraught with danger. The world we live in is a miracle that's killing us all, and we don't think about either of those things enough. Continue reading Spiced tea and mead for the Winter Solstice at The Wild Hunt.

This December, the American version of The Financial Times published a feature on what is often termed the Gadfly movement within American Unitarian Universalism. The Financial Times is a London-based daily whose editorial stance is to the right of the Washington Post, but not as far right as the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page. Similarly, […] The post FACT-CHECKING THE FINANCIAL TIMES GADFLY ARTICLE appeared first on Dennis McCarty.

You know that feeling you get on the last day of vacation? You’ve still got today to enjoy, but it’s a bittersweet feeling knowing that what you looked forward to and have enjoyed is coming to an end. That’s how I feel at the Winter Solstice.

I have many friends for whom this time of year means the chance to escape into ridiculous and predictable holiday romance movies. While the casts are more and more diverse, the stories are simple and formulaic. And this allows folks just to turn off their brain and live in another space for a little while. … Continue reading Escape

Join us for our first live Christmas pageant since the pandemic.

I got my new hiking hat and gloves, and they are great. Too bad you can’t order new body parts on the internet. I mean, I have one relatively new knee, but getting it was a lot harder. Modern medicine is not a simple or painless process. I have been feeling old this week. I had to go into […]

 I frequently evaluate tools that might be useful for woodworking with kids, and I ran across a folding Japanese style Kataba saw that would likely be a good replacement for the Vaughan Bear Saws we've used for years at the Clear Spring School. The Hardtwerk Zen Saw has 13 precision ground hardened teeth per inch and like the Bear Saws and other Japanese designed saws, cuts on the pull stroke. It's not as fine toothed as a Dozuki so would not be a replacement for a dovetail saw, but would cut quickly in softwoods. While I'm waiting for mine to arrive, you might try it also, as it would provide an excellent opportunity to get some valuable sawing time with children or grandchildren over the holidays, and it folds closed when not in use. ...

                                                                        O Come, O Come Emmanuel sung by Enya with Latin lyrics. Today is the Third Sunday of Advent and time to share the most famous of all Advent hymns, O Come, O Come Emmanuel which also has some of the oldest roots.   As a boy it always perplexed me—who the hell was this Emmanuel, what did he have to do with Christmas, and how did Israel become involved? It turns out that Emmanuel—from Hebrew meaning “God is With Us” is mentioned almost in passing in the Old Testament book of Book of Isaiah in connection with prophecies connected to a war between the Kingdom of Judea and an Assyrian Empire with its vassal the Kingdom of...

Please join us on Sunday (17 December 2023) at 11:00 AM for “The Light is Reborn — A Unitarian Universalist Winter Holiday Celebration.” “In the greatest darkness, the light is reborn” — join us for a celebration of the light that is the common thread linking all our celebrations at this time of year. We … Continue reading "All Ages Worship (17 December 2023)"

Please join us on Sunday (24 December 2023) at 6:30 PM for our Christmas Eve candlelight worship service. Join us on Christmas Eve for carols, candlelight, special music from the All Souls Choir along with a reading of the Christmas story from the Book of Luke in the Christian Testament. Stay afterward, bring any of … Continue reading "Christmas Eve Candlelight Service (24 December 2023)"

This Sunday (17 December 2023) will be an intergenerational worship service. There will be no children and youth religious education classes happening during the worship service time. Our children and youth will be staying in the sanctuary for the worship service.

The mitten tree for Maggie Lee’s Closet is now up in the sanctuary. Bring mittens, gloves, hats, and scarves for children. They will be contributed to Maggie Lee’s Closet at the Highland Center to help keep children warm through the winter.