In this week's Pagan Community Pagans many were surprised and at times appalled by the Queen's image on Stonehenge, Wicked Spirits fundraiser, The Venice Biennial of Art, Announcements, and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of June 6, 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

Isn’t that what Wavyleaf Silktassel sounds like? A resident of the Shire? It is in fact a large shrub that grows all along the coast of Oregon and California, doing well in serpentine and clay soils. I know far less about geology than I do about botany, which is saying something, and as far as […]

At All Souls, we continue to be a place of healing, refuge, resilience and resistance; we honor all people who have been lost, both near and far, to senseless gun violence. The post A Message to the Congregation appeared first on BeyondBelief.

Kimberly Quinn Johnson  I call it Black Joy, but I want to offer it—to the extent that it is mine to offer—to this faith.

    Prayer as Spiritual Practice: Random Notes from my Dreams James Ishmael Ford I’ve been meeting with an old colleague twice a month for a while now. He suffered from a swarm of strokes that has left him severely disabled, mostly physically, but also to some degree cognitively. Talking is extremely difficult for him. […]

Note:  Ever relevant as we face domestic Nazis, Fascists, and White Supremacists at home and the Russian invasion of Ukraine reminds us that naked aggression and war crimes are no longer unthinkable in Europe today.  We revisit this annual reminder. When it comes to World War II, certain dates are etched indelibly into the American consciousness, even occasionally piercing the historical unawareness of young people now generations removed from the events.  December 7, Pearl Harbor Day is one.  August 6 when the U.S. dropped the first Atomic Bomb making the end of the war with Japan inevitable is another. So is June 6, known without further explanation as D-Day.   American troops pinned down on Omaha Beach, June 6, 1944. On June 6, 1...

I am loving this practice, and . . . it means I’m spending zero time on any other art, and I’m feeling itchy about that. My spiritual director put good words to it: this process is more externally focused and the more abstract, less representational, more playful pieces are more internally focused. I think a […]

    FLOWERS FOR OUR FATHERS Rev. Kit Ketcham, June 15, 2022             On Fathers’ Day and Mothers’ Day, we honor the parents who gave us life, whether those parents are our kin by blood, by adoption, by marriage, by affinity, such as a favored teacher, or by preference for a beloved adult.             When my son was a toddler, he received child care from a family in our church, Jefferson Unitarian Church in Golden, Colorado.  Bruce and Judy Douglass had a little boy about Mike’s age and a baby girl on the way, so Mike had a playmate in their son Scott and a baby on the horizon.              We weren’t sure what Mike should call these friends who took such a prominent role in his young l...

“We’ll find out what we’re made of When we are called to help our friends in need You can count on me like one, two, three I’ll be there And I know when I need it, I can count on you like four, three, two And you’ll be there ‘Cause that’s what friends are supposed … Continue reading Count on Me

自由女神, zìyóu nǚshén, the "Goddess of Democracy," was a symbol of the 1989 Tienanmen Square protests in China. The Chinese government has attempted to suppress the goddess's image, but activists are keeping her in the public eye despite the risk of prison. Continue reading “Finding Manneoi” – the “Goddess of Democracy” surges on Hong Kong campus at The Wild Hunt.

Some thoughts on American gun culture and its place in the Beloved Community.

First it is mangoes, then a mango margarita, and then who knows where it will stop? Slippery slopes, tripping over your own feet, and it really isn’t the fault of the mango – or even the tequila. It is paying attention that matters. It is important to stop and think if you really want those […]

        NO THERE THERE A Dharma Talk Edward Sanshin Oberholtzer Joseph Priestley Zen Sangha Empty Moon Zen Drive north from Oakland to the  city of Berkeley along Adeline Street and just where BART, the Bay Area commuter line, dives back underground you’ll find one of those sculptures that Berkeley has commissioned to […]

Although no authentic image of Joseph Jordan is known to exist, he began his climb to success as a teen-age Black oysterman like these men.  He successively worked in Confederate war industry, as a grocer, a house carpenter, and a builder/developer before retiring comfortably enough to dedicate his life to preaching. You would think that the Universalists, religious folk so radically inclusive that their Heaven excluded no souls, would welcome Black worshipers with open arms.  And some did, especially in the North.  But the denomination which was governed mostly by state and local conventions often reflected local racial attitudes and customs.  Many Southern Universalists might have been willing to share eternity with Blacks, probabl...

An old proverb says “a wise person learns from their mistakes – a very wise person learns from other peoples’ mistakes.” Abuse is bad – covering it up just makes things worse. The rest of us need to learn from the Southern Baptists’ mistakes.

I spent two days on this one, really wanting to get the light right. My daughter says I have, so I thought I’d better stop now. It’s hard to know sometimes.

Please join us on Sunday (5 June 2022) at 11:00 AM for “Accentuate the Positive” by Rev. Joy Walker.  Rev. Walker is the former minister for Unity Church of Shreveport and Unity Church of Southeast Texas. We will be meeting in the sanctuary for this worship service.  Please join us in person at All Souls … Continue reading "All-Ages Worship (5 June 2022)"

Please join us on Sunday (5 June 2022) at 9:00 AM for our adult religious education class via Zoom. This Sunday we continue our work through the book Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad. As the author says, “This is not a book you read, this is a book you do” and we … Continue reading "Online Adult Religious Education — 5 June 2022"

This Sunday an All Souls summer tradition returns — Tie-Dye in the Religious Education Wing. Children are asked to bring a 100% cotton t-shirt or other cotton garment to tie-dye for themselves or for any special grownups in their lives. We will have a few extra shirts, bandanas, and mini tote bags on hand — … Continue reading "Tie-Dye Sunday (5 June 2022)"

Please join us next Tuesday (7 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.

Our give-away-the-plate recipient for June 2022 is Louisiana Trans Advocates. Each month we dedicate all of our non-pledge income to an organization doing the work that best embodies our Unitarian Universalist principles and values. Louisiana Trans Advocates is a statewide organization advocating for the rights of trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people in Louisiana. The local … Continue reading "Louisiana Trans Advocates — June 2022 Give-Away-The-Plate Recipient"

Integrity is like the old saying “if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear, does it make a sound.”  I think , of course there was a sound.  Same with integrity.  A person should always act with integrity–decent, respectful, honorable, trustworthy–whether there are witnesses to their behavior or not. … Continue reading Tree

"Our clergy, our priests and priestesses who lead our small circles, covens, kindreds, groves, and groups, perform a fantastic job of helping to keep our traditions balanced. We share the reality that clergy of all faiths have during these turbulent times of mass shootings, the slow  disintegration of privacy rights, and the overall pandemic: we are needed more than ever." Continue reading Column: Having a Voice – Ordination for Our Communities at The Wild Hunt.

(Note: this is a guest post by Rev. Dr. Cynthia L. Landrum.) The UUA has two candidates running by petition against the UUA Nominating Committee’s candidates for UUA Board of Trustees this year, as well as a protest happening outside the General Assembly, as announced by the Fifth Principle Project. The Fifth Principle Project is […] The post The Gadfly Molehill appeared first on Dennis McCarty.

I have been marveling at the beauty of our front esplanade–formerly known as the hell strip. I planted it four years ago, with help from donated plants, and some donated labor too. Right now it is a stunning palette of white, blue/purple, and yellow, over green leaves: Blue/purple Siberian irises, yellow turkish rocket flowers, purple […]

Yesterday I was honored at a retirement party at the home of Sally and LeRoy Gorrell. I'm retiring this year from teaching at the Clear Spring School after 20 years teaching kids in the Clear Spring School wood shop.  My wife, Jean, had arranged with the Eureka Springs Mayor to proclaim June 4th as "Doug Stowe Day," so this is my day. I want to thank all those who celebrated with me yesterday, and all those who supported my work over these years. And thanks, Jean and our mayor for making this my day. On this special "Doug Stowe" day, I'll be gardening a bit, playing with Rosie, and getting ready for a five day box making class at ESSA that starts on Monday. Make, fix and create. Assist others in learning likewise.

Roquefort cheese and bread--a fine French lunch. Comment voulez-vous gouverner un pays qui a deux cent quarante-six variétés de fromage? — How can you govern a country which has two hundred and forty-six varieties of cheese? So said an exasperated Charles de Galle, a man who preferred his orders obeyed—and promptly.  He was right both ways.  The Frenchare apparently ungovernable, for which we should all be grateful, and they do love their cheese.  And none of that country’s many cheeses have a more storied or distinguished linage than Roquefort. King Charles VI, the Beloved and/or the Mad, King of France an benefactor of the cheese makers of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon. On June 4, 1411 Charles VI—previously known as Charles the Be...

    It was on this day, the 4th of June in 1411, that King Charles VI granted a monopoly for the ripening of Roquefort cheese to the people of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon. Today the European Union recognizes this in law dictating only those cheeses aged in the Combalou caves of Roqueort-sur-Soulzon may bear the name Roquefort. As it should be… […]

Click on this link to hear a recorded version of the following piece   “And, when the day arrived that completed the fifty after Passover, [Matthias and the eleven Apostles] were all gathered together in one place; And suddenly there came a noise like a turbulent wind borne out of the sky, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting, And there appeared before them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest, one each upon each one of them, And they were all filled with a Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them to utter” (Acts 2:1-5, trans. David Bentley Hart). So begins chapter two of Acts. It tells a story which, within Christian communities anyway, has become understood as des...

A short  “ thought for the day” offered to the Cambridge Unitarian Church as part of the Sunday Service of Mindful   Meditation  (Click on this link to hear a recorded version of the following piece) —o0o— In this blogpost/podcast, I simply wish to offer you two readings as reminders that, despite seemingly being a mythical, supernatural event with no contemporary, this-worldly significance at all, when looked at in a certain light, the Pentecost story can in fact be taken as the origin story of the modern, egalitarian, cosmopolitan, democratic state. At a time when  democracy seems utterly to have lost its way and is under real threat, it may prove helpful to look again at the Pentecost story, or at least as it was understo...

Please join us on Saturday (4 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 (4 June 2022)"

One way of experiencing integrity is as a match between the values we hold and the values we express through our actions. What are your most important values? How do you express them in your actions?

Holy Spirit of many namesand of no name,Source of Life and Love, Create in us a sparkto move beyond thoughts and prayersinto discernment and action. Help us find courageous waysto turn away from violence,and beat our swords into plowshares. Bless our hearts, minds and handsin bringing healing to the sick and hurting. And may we … Continue reading A Prayer for National Gun Violence Awareness Day

In the wake of the leaked draft of a U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn the constitutional right to abortion, Lyonel Perabo lays out the historical evidence for abortion rights as part of Heathen belief and practice. Continue reading Opinion: The Heathen Case for Abortion Rights at The Wild Hunt.

      I see today is the anniversary of the death of Pope John XXIII. He was the pope of my childhood. He was the pope Protestants liked in an era where that didn’t happen. He was known as the Good Pope and Good Pope John. He’s actually the second person to use that […]

Elaine McArdle The UUA's 2022 gathering will offer onsite and online attendees a more equitable experience than ever.

The timing of this Q&A is a nice bookend, as I joined Beacon last June! I saw this specific job retweeted by either POC in Publishing or Latinx in Publishing. I’ve been in publishing/the world of books in some way ever since I graduated college back in the aughts. After moving around a bit, I really found a sweet spot in working on progressive books, and publicity and marketing really suit my preference of crafting the messaging and helping to put out projects into the world that the author has spent so much time working on.

Now more than ever, communities around the world are in need of the radical love and nourishment of UUs.

Susan Frederick-Gray Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray shares key details and highlights for this year's annual conference of Unitarian Universalists, General Assembly. GA will be a multiplatform experience, taking place in Portland, OR and online from June 22 - 26, 2022. Continue reading "From the UUA President: Let's Meet the Moment at GA 2022"

Week of June 5, 2022 Glorious and Gracious Lover of Life, the one who blows the dandelion, milkweed, and maple seeds spinning off into new tender adventures, help us savor this life in the small moments, the breath, the wish wending from one heart to the fertile earth of another....

Jack Jouett's ride. Jack Jouett was asleep when a commotion startled him awake.  His Excellency, the Governor would later recall that it was at the plantation home of his father, John Jouett,Sr. in Luisa County.  But most accounts have him stretched out on the lawn of the Cuckoo Tavern about eight miles away and halfway between Richmond and Charlottesville.  In either case, breathless word arrived that the White Coats were riding.  That could mean only one thing—the troopers of the infamous Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton—and only one mission—to swoop down upon the undefended legislature and Governor Thomas Jefferson who had fled to Charlottesville after the fall of Richmond. In the summer of 1781 the Revolutionary War had...

June is Pride month for LGBTQIA+ people in many places. For many, this is a celebration of the privilege of being able to live with integrity with regard to who and how we love. How do you love others with integrity?

By Brittany Wallace | I remember when I first heard about “Breaking Bread.” Contrary to what movies would have you think, the publishing process takes at least a year, sometimes two or three. When I started at Beacon in September 2021, we were already abuzz about our summer 2022 list—publishing speak for “forthcoming books.” Our director and the book’s in-house editor, Helene Atwan, brought “Breaking Bread” up in an all-staff meeting. She talked about how two years-long friends, Debra Spark and Deborah Joy Corey, gathered up to seventy essays from renowned and beloved food writers for the collection.

Pagans, particularly those prominent in the community, are experiencing an increase in copycat profiles that undermine their brand and teachings. Continue reading Copycat accounts affecting many Pagans at The Wild Hunt.

      Out in the social media realms, the American Rinzai priest Meido Moore shared the great Thirteenth century Eihei Dogen’s advice for dying. It had been awhile since I’d read it. And, the re-read touched me. So, I thought appropriate to share it here together with a few words of reflection. First the […]

  I woke up about 3 to go to the bathroom this morning and when I went back to bed, I was beset by the worry that someday I might die at home at night and that nobody would notice that I hadn’t left the house and would not come to check on me.   Not only would I be dead, but Lily would be frantic with hunger and thirst and anxiety and would have no way of signaling for help. I couldn’t go back to sleep and kept struggling with this worry, devising possible scenarios which would prevent or remedy the situation.   I couldn’t think of anything that would save Lily’s life, if I weren’t found for several days.   She might yowl loudly, but could she be heard from her back bedroom?   Not likely. So I got up, just to give myself ...

Yesterday I went by the Clear Spring School as students were camping in our field. They had insisted they wanted to whittle, so Dustin Griffith had gone to the woodshop to get a few sloyd knives out for them to use. More and more students wanted to join in, so the number of whittlers grew and I brought out the whole set. Using the sloyd knives and pocket knives brought from home, many sharp sticks were made. One of my students, Gabe, told me that he whittles nearly every day at home, and I can assure you that whittling is a meditative process that leads to a sharpened point, both in the wood and in the mind of the whittler. To whittle is not the simple minded activity one might assume. To whittle requires one to observe, hypothesize, and...

  Ojibwe tribesmen playing a rowdy ball and stick game similar to lacrosse suddenly rushed the open gates of Fort Micjilimackinac massacring  the small garrison  and English inhabitants.  It was the westernmost attack in a continent spanning uprising against English rule led Pontiac in 1763.    It must have been an exciting game.   Certainly, June 2, 1763 was a perfect day for it.   Springhad finally come to Fort Michilimackinac, the ice was clearing from Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.   The sun was shining.   The men of the fort, and some of their women, too, spilled out of the palisaded walls to watch the excitement.   Others went about their businessinside.   The semi-permanent Ojibwe trading village outside the walls was ...

I suspect that most people who say “thoughts and prayers” are just mouthing the words – they will do neither. Because if they really were thinking or praying or both, they would also be doing a lot more.

I thought I posted this two days ago, but apparently not.

Carolyn Chen, a UC Berkeley sociologist who studies religion, spent the last few years studying religion in Silicon Valley. She’s especially interested in the way work has become a religion for the tech workers of Silicon Valley — and in the way tech companies use religion to keep their workers in line. Not surprisingly, given … Continue reading "“Whitened Buddhism” and the opiate of the masses"

The June program for EBWA, the Evening Branch of the Women’s Alliance is “Schenectady’s Leading Ladies: A Tour with the Schenectady County Historical Society.” It will be held on Thursday June 16 at 5pm. (followed by a “bring your own bag supper and chair” behind the ... read more . The post Schenectady’s Leading Ladies: A Tour with the Schenectady County Historical Society appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

This is such a tender time. Between a horrid act of violence fueled by racism in Buffalo, to the heartbreaking events in Uvalde, many of us are deeply saddened, angry, and feeling vulnerable. We are thinking of children and youth, who are worried and afraid. ... read more . The post Co-Ministers’ Colloquy – May 31st appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

K/1st/2nd Grade OWL (Our Whole Lives sexuality education): Their next session is scheduled for Sunday morning, 6/5, at 10:30. They’ll meet in the K/1 classroom in the church hallway, next to the dining hall. Masks are required and there is an air-filtration unit in ... read more . The post RE News – May 31st appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

UU Wellspring is a 10-month spiritual deepening course. Group members experience deep listening and spiritual reflection in small groups of about ten, inspiring personal and community transformation. Participants read, view and respond to pre-session assignments that are focused on spiritual topics and UU Theology. This ... read more . The post Registration is Now Open for UU Wellspring 2022-2023 appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

The impact of the eruption of Thera in antiquity was likely a major factor in the demise of Minoan culture. Continue reading Impacts of Bronze Age volcanic eruptions at The Wild Hunt.

Sunday, June 5, 10:30 a.m. The Blessing of Sabbath Worship Service led by Rev. Alice Anacheka-Nasemann Our theme for the month of June is Celebrating Blessings . Join us this Sunday, June 5, for a worship service celebrating the blessings of Sabbath, rest, and renewal. This morning we will also celebrate the blessing of our newest   [ … ] The post Sunday, June 5 ~ The Blessing of Sabbath ~ 10:30 a.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

Laura Solomon We are an angry and beautiful people. Continue reading "Us, Human, Here"

Comenius had put forth his argument that the senses form the core of learning: "The ground of this business (education) is, that sensual objects be rightly presented to the senses for fear that they not be received. I say, and say it again aloud, that this is the foundation of all the rest; because we can neither act nor speak wisely, unless we first rightly understand all the things which are to be done and whereof we have to speak. Now there is nothing in the understanding which was not before in the senses. And therefore to exercise the senses well about the right perceiving of the differences of things will be to lay the grounds for wisdom and all wise discourse, and all discreet actions in one's course of life, which, because it is ...

  Please support the Ride to Keep a Light On, a fun, easy bicycle ride through the streets of Woodstock, Illinoisthis Friday June 3.   The event raises funds for organizations serving the community including Compassion for Campers.   To support the event volunteer to ride and gather sponsors and buy color-coded string of lights—a different color for each charity—to decorate bikes or yourselves.   Strings are $9 each and all proceeds go the correspondingcharity.   Gathering and sales of strings begins in Woodstock Square at 7:30 with the ride beginningafter full dark about 8:30. Ride to Leave a Light on founder and sponsor Ken West in his Material Things Artisan Market in Woodstock. The event is sponsored by Material Things Artis...

  I took this photo in September 2016 by St Andrew the Great, Cambridge using my Ricoh GR. As I recall it,  the older gentleman in the centre foreground was the person I thought I was about to photograph but, as I pressed the shutter the two men on the right suddenly appeared in the frame. Oh well, never mind . . . It was only when I got home that I realised that in that 1/320 of a second I’d caught, wholly by chance, a moment that spoke strongly to me of the work of the social anthropologist Tim Ingold who explores the human as an organism which “feels” its way through the world that “is itself in motion” and, in so doing, is constantly creating and being changed by spaces and places as they are encountered.  As such it’s...

Make Magazine provided this link to enable Wisdom of the Hands blog readers to log in to the zoom interview by Dale Dougherty at 6 PM Central Daylight Time on June 2, 2022. https://make.activehosted.com/f/38 I hope to find a few of my friends in attendance. A Q and A session will follow. Make, fix and create... 

In the Buddhist tradition, one cultivates metta, or lovingkindness. It is a practice of wishing yourself and others freedom from suffering as well as happiness and peace. Practice a brief metta meditation today: May I be happy. May I be well. May I be peaceful and at ease. May you be happy. May you be … Continue reading Lovingkindness

In this week's Pagan Community Notes: Adelaide University rejects Occult Club, Thor's Oak Kindred builds a team to walk in the Ricky Byrdsong Memorial Race Against Hate, Announcements and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of May 31, 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

Karen Hutt , Lauren Wyeth , Jen Crow We can build on our traditions to keep pushing our boundaries.

My zoom conversation with Dale Dougherty at Make Magazine on Thursday is a members only affair and I learned that the link I provided yesterday will not work. I'm checking to see if there's a link I can offer to non-members. I'll share it when I can.  Make, fix and create...

Matilda--you were brand new! Note —Granddaughter Matilda was born on Sunday, May 30, 2020—traditional Memorial Day—at 10:40 am.  That was just in time for me to make the exciting announcement in the virtual coffee hour following Tree of Life UU Congregation Coronavirus Zoom services.  How could I forget.  This will likely become an annual blog tradition To Matilda Mokoto Holmes on Your Birth May 30, 2020 I understand you can’t read this.  You have been very busy getting born, learning how to breathe and such.  Hopefully your mother will keep a copy of this to share with you on some appropriate birthday a few years from now. On the day you were born the sky was crystal blue and everything was lush green bursting with young li...

Beloved, Fiercely Fabulous, persistent, creative, may we flower, fly, and flutter in these sacred images. May we dare to be our whole, beautiful selves, loving boldly, knowing that will appear in many hues and guises, many differing mutual expressions, many splendid ways we haven’t imagined or created yet. May we...

On this day in the United States, it is Memorial Day, a day to remember those who have died serving the country in the Armed Forces. Who are you remembering today?

We honor all military personnel who died serving in the U.S. armed forces Continue reading Honoring and remembering those who died in service at The Wild Hunt.

Today is the new moon. This morning I sat near the pond, reading my journal from the date of the last new moon, as is my practice. Then along came this cardinal landing on a rock on the other side of the pond, about 12 feet away from me. After I took this photo, it […]

  ZEN AND THE DARK Chris Hoff Dharma TeacherEmpty Moon Zen This week I visited Sedona Arizona. Sedona is a place I have visited regularly since the first time I visited over 25 years ago. I know this might be cliché but, I just like the vibe. And its beauty of course. Sedona is known […]

On June 2nd, 6-7 PM Central Daylight Time I'll have a zoom call with Dale Dougherty of Make Magazine to discuss my book, The Wisdom of Our Hands: Crafting, A Life. You can use this link to attend. https://events.zoom.us/ev/DCjLXONM6ntIQ8QvlQAAFgAAABcIpJ4ThKi6wJMuj5PgzrNXCXHZOzyEtodmB-uZP84LF3fJzMFY~AIgqBPhnPmV9neFBus2ix6O8JdvnZQvVoE2jfTw  The event will consist of an interview by Dale, and there will be time allotted for a Q and A. Make members are invited but with this message you are, too. You will need to register in advance to attend using the link I provided above. If you register, they will send you a link allowing you to zoom in. Make, fix and create...

                                           A Decoration Day card honored the Union dead exclusively. Note— This is a semi-regular Memorial Day history post.  It’s good to be reminded. Today is, of course, Memorial Day in the United States.  The Uniform Holiday Act, passed in 1968, set 1971 as the year the Federal government would begin observing the holiday on the last Monday of May giving Americansa three day holiday weekend to start the summer season, to be balanced by a three day Labor Day weekend in September.  Veteran’s groups were nearly unanimous inopposition to the move fearing that it would dilute the observance as families planed fun activitiesinstead of solemnly commemorating the war dead.  ...

The website Pest Management Handbooks (Pacific Northwest) says, “The serpentine madrone miner adult is a tiny moth. Larvae of this leaf- and twig-mining moth blaze sinuous, serpentine mines across the surface of leaves. Although damage might be unsightly on individual leaves, they do not affect the long-term health of the tree.” As we know, I […]

Nine more copyright-free hymns. Yes, you can use these online without having copyright trolls harass you. They’re in this Google Drive folder, along with dozens of others. Of interest in this batch of copyright-free hymns: There are 3 hymn tunes by Thomas Commuck, the first Native American composer to publish his music. In two cases, … Continue reading "Nine more copyright free hymns"

Love is the voice in our hardest moments. It is the enduring and transformative process that returns us to community and upholds all that is the gift of life. -Erien Babcock (CLF) What has helped you through your hardest moments?

The famous "Portrait of a Creole Woman in a Madras Tignon," often erroneously claimed to portray the Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau, has sold at auction for $984,000 to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Continue reading “Her strength is haunting and unparalleled”: painting once thought to portray Marie Laveau sells for nearly $1 million at The Wild Hunt.

      THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS AND ANOTHER THING Spiritual Responses to Hard Things James Ishmael Ford Delivered on the 29th of May, 2022 at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Long Beach “Stop the war raging across the river.” “Miscellaneous Koans,” Empty Moon Zen Tomorrow is Memorial Day. It’s meant to be a time to […]

He said What he wanted to do was to Create safe spaces It was a ministry to him “Safe spaces,” I asked “How do you do that?” “By helping people be their authentic selves.” Hmm, what if that in itself isn’t safe? I very authentically never feel that kind of safety. Maybe before I was […]

Sometimes the best pictures are only in the mind, never caught on a camera. I was sitting with Billie in my blue easy chair in the bedroom, and something caught my eye outside the window. It was a goldfinch couple, perching in the peach tree, and then hopping down to the plants beneath. The bright […]

On Memorial Day weekend, as we honor and remember those who have died, we might also explore what death means, and what lessons death can teach us about life.

The weather was summertime this week and a friend gave us 6 super sweet mangoes. They are hard to peel, but an internet search which suggested scooping with a spoon helped a lot. I’d almost forgotten how good a relatively low calorie meal could taste. I tossed it with some Louisiana hot sauce and had … … Continue reading →

While some are attempting to take part in what they've called a "culture war," by steadfastly refusing to regulate weapons of war, and as children and innocent unarmed adults are killed by assault rifles folks should have few rights to in the first place, FDR proclaimed 4 fundamental freedoms that are essential in a democracy. Those were freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Those last two are the ones that we've lost in the culture war that pits the second amendment rights to "bear arms" against the safety of all Americans. Some of us want to eliminate poverty, as it is most often the source of poor schooling, stresses on the home, divorce, and of kids falling through the cracks. The "conservat...

  A Federalist cartoon show Rhode Island, the last of the thirteen pillars of the new union, teetering on the edge of a fall. Always contrarian Rhode Island stamped its tiny foot and threatened to hold its breath until it turned blue.   No, they would absolutely not ratify the tyrannical document known as the Constitution of the United States.   Sure, the moneyed interests in big states were for it—Virginia , New York , Pennsylvania .   And not-quite-so-big Massachusetts and Connecticut had voted for ratification—but that was all the more reason to be suspicious.   The big bullies were likely to swamp the sovereignty of the pipsqueak.   And Massachusetts had been literally threateningthe existence of the former Colony since Bap...

A “lapsed Catholic” writer says regressive politicians are working magic to help them turn the world back to the 1950s. And he’s right. Those of us whose worldview includes magic need to be working our own magic for ourselves and for the world at large.

Again, I want to spend more time on this one than I can do in one day, so this is a work in progress. This madrone leaf was visited by a leaf miner. Not good for the leaf, I’m sure, but so beautiful. A madrone branch adorns the front wall of UUCPA’s sanctuary, so this […]

This month the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair, New Jersey, where I attend, is focusing on the theme of beauty. Beauty is everywhere, especially in nature. The Rev. Scott Sammler-Michael said in his sermon that entire industries criticize how we look. He said they tell lies that we need certain make-up, surgery, or some new […] The post There is beauty in ritual without the glitz and glamour appeared first on Nature's Sacred Journey.

Please join us on Sunday (29 May 2022) at 11:00 AM for “Poetry for Peace — A Memorial Day Service” by the members and friends of All Souls. We will be meeting in the sanctuary for this worship service.  Please join us in person at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 9449 Ellerbe Road, Shreveport LA  … Continue reading "All-Ages Worship (29 May 2022)"

Please join us on Sunday (29 May 2022) at 9:00 AM for our adult religious education class via Zoom. This Sunday we continue our work through the book Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad. As the author says, “This is not a book you read, this is a book you do” and we … Continue reading "Online Adult Religious Education — 29 May 2022"