It’s a little old fashioned but you have probably heard or used the phrase “the best thing since sliced bread.”   It was an idiom originally meant to convey a sense of wonder and appreciation for some new gadget or development.   Later it took on something of a sarcastic connotation.   After all, sliced bread had become so commonplace that is seemed damning with faint praise.   To understand why sliced bread was such a wonder, we have to look back on those dark, dark days before you could pick up a loaf of neatly sliced and wrapped bread anywhere basic foodis peddled. It was on July 7, 1928 when the Chillicothe Baking Company of Chillicothe, Missouri, a small commercial bakery first used the bread slicing machine developed b...

I am in Manchester for a little less than two weeks. The city was historically the heart of British Unitarianism–and I am told that even now about half of the Unitarians in the United Kingdom live within 50 miles of the city center–and the University of Manchester has one of the largest collections of Unitarian […]

“I’m gonna lift my people up, they are not heavy. If I can’t lift them up—if I can’t lift them up—I will fall down.” -Faya Ora Rose Toure How can you participate in lifting someone else up today?

I got up early to attend an online session of the Religious Education Association (REA) annual conference. The presentationby Heesung Hwang of Chicago Theological Seminary, on how religious education could address burnout, was thought-provoking, to say the least. I’ll try to summarize her presentation in a later post. Then it was time to hit the … Continue reading "Roseland, Ind., to Conneaut, Ohio"

The American Lung Association recently released its annual "State of the Air" report which highlights the increased risks to ethnic and sexual minorities, People of Color, and those living below the poverty line. Continue reading American Lung Association releases State of the Air Report 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

  “Child care is crucial to the growth, development and educational advancement of all children, and creates a positive economic impact for families and communities. Every family in the United States should have access to a high-quality, affordable child care system.” Child Care Aware     Our nation is in a child care crisis that hurts children, families, businesses, and communities. Across the country, families are facing barriers accessing and affording high-quality child care, forcing them to make a difficult read more... The post Send a Letter: Support the Federal Child Care for Working Families Act appeared first on Promise the Children.

How does the Spirit move? How does the Spirit guide us? Is it like the wind blowing this morning, shifting the trees every which way? Might it come disguised as a turkey mother, with two babies always following nearby, meandering through the yard? Might it be in the doors that close, as well as the […]

Taken with a Fujifilm X100V Just click on the photo to enlarge it   Taken whilst walking back to Cambridge on Granchester Meadows during the COVID-19 lockdown in August 2020 I came across this scene. It could not but cause me to think of Moby-Dick . . . All that most maddens and torments; all that stirs up the lees of things; all truth with malice in it; all that cracks the sinews and cakes the brain; all the subtle demonisms of life and thought; all evil, to crazy Ahab, were visibly personified, and made practically assailable in Moby-Dick.  (Herman Melville, Moby-Dick, Chapter 41).

  The energy and determination that drew hundreds of people to Crystal Lake for three recent reproductive rights rallies and roadside vigils is coming to McHenry this Saturday, July 9 at 4 pm at the corner of Elm Street (Rt. 120) and Front Street (Rt. 31) near CVS pharmacy. Veteran local activist and Democratic Party Precinct Committee person Terry Kappel is hosting the event.   He asks people to bring homemade signs, voices, and indignation that basic rights are being stolenfrom women.   Kappel says “We need to vote our values, because women’s lives matter too.” For more information visit the Facebook Event at, call Terry Kappel at 779 302-6212   or email tkappel@hotmail.com .  

Today I'm sitting on the front porch, waiting for the heat of the day to drive Rosie and I inside. We've some serious play to do first.  In the shop, I've about 4 small projects going at once, in an attempt to clear the decks for new work. There are very clear reasons why all schools should have wood shops and other means for students to learn directly from life. The following is from William James. "The most colossal improvement which recent years have seen in secondary education lies in the introduction of manual training schools; not because they will give us a people more handy and practical for domestic life and better skilled in trades, but because they will give us citizens with an entirely different intellectual fiber.   "Labo...

We need a new narrative. We need a new story. We need a story that helps us find our place in this world of decline. We need a story that accepts reality and that also refuses to “go along quietly.” I think we can find such a story in the in-between places.

Jefferson stands as a demigod in the Greek temple erected as his Memorial in Washington, his famous words etched in the walls around him. Independence Day has come and gone, but perhaps it is not too late to consider the brilliant author of the Declaration of Independence , Thomas Jefferson.   Growing up and as a young man Jefferson was always my favorite founder.   Like the much older Benjamin Franklin, he was a man of wide interests, a probing mind, and a philosophical bent.   His Deism spoke to my unorthodox soul.   And his soaring rhetoric inspired my life-long quest for human liberty and social justice.   But I learned that there was a mote the size of a log in the great man'seye. Next to George Washington and Franklin, Jeffers...

“The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another … Continue reading Centering Others

After a good visit with Ed and Nancy, it was time to start heading east again. Which meant getting through Chicago. The traffic started getting heavier north of the Illinois border, then was heavy and slow through most of Chicago. Eventually the skyscrapers of downtown Chicago rose up out of the hot, humid summer air. … Continue reading "Oshkosh, Wis., to Roseland, Ind."

In this week's Pagan Community Notes, more Pagan organizations respond to the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, Asheville protests, Crossings of the Veil, and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of July 5, 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

Last week the Supreme Court limited the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to address emissions that cause climate change, compromising half a century of health, environmental, and climate justice advocacy. The decision in West Virginia v. EPA hobbles the EPA’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas pollution from coal and gas-fired power plants using the Clean Air Act. The Court’s ruling will disproportionately impact communities of color and low-income communities. These populations are more likely to live near power plants, experience higher rates of pollution, are most affected by the public health impacts of climate and are more likely to experience climate-forced displacement. Tell Biden: Choose People over Fossil Fuels . Si...

I have been troubled lately to find some of my books on Amazon selling for more than the suggested retail price. So instead of buying from Amazon, please go to LeeValley.com. There you will find "Wisdom of Our Hands: Crafting, A Life" and two earlier books, "Making Classic Toys that Teach" and "The Guide to Woodworking with Kids." All are priced below suggested retail price. If you are interested in "the Box Maker's Guitar Book," you'll find it on Amazon for $50.00 or on BN.com for the suggested retail price of half the current Amazon price. It appears that Amazon has a very weird computer controlled pricing algorithm that may be screwing folks if they're not watchful.  They are also  screwing  authors by inflating the price of our bo...

The NOAH Banquet fundraiser has returned! July 21st at 6:30 NOAH supporters will gather at the Music City Center for a fun and informative packed night titled On the Road to Justice. Speaker Justin Pearson, co-founder of Memphis Community Against the Pipeline (MCAP) and music with great food.

What does your team need to know to be at its best? Come and get your questions answered! Join the members of Leadership Development to talk about the "nuts and bolts" of procedures as well as ways your team can work together to make our FUUN vision a reality!

Back in the seventies as young folks experimented with LSD, they were advised that set and setting were important to control the outcome of the trip. A trip could be good or bad depending on the circumstances set up in advance. What you expected and the reasons for it (set) had impact on whether you had a good or bad trip. Where you did it and who you did it with (setting) were the other parts... So hang out in lovely places with good folks unless you want to suffer needlessly. An article in CNN ( https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/23/opinions/surprising-solution-to-gun-violence-ludwig/index.html) discusses how to approach the problem of gun violence, centered on research done in 1973 in which divinity students were presented the opportunity to...

      Last year, a foolish monk. This year, no change. Ryokan Fifty-two years ago, today, on the 5th of July 1970, I received shukke tokudo, also called unsui tokudo, ordination as a novice Soto Zen Buddhist priest in Oakland, California, from the Soto Zen priest Houn Jiyu Kennett. Also. In twelve days I […]

  J.R. "Bob" Dobbs, avatar of the Church of the SubGenius was said to resemble Ward Cleaver. No need to put the paper napkins and plates away, the grill, the lawn chairs, the well-stocked coolers of adult beverages just because Independence Day has come and gone.   Keep the party rolling by joining devotees of the Church of the SubGenius in celebrating their high holy day—the anniversary of the failure of cult founder J. R. “Bob” Dobbs’s prophesy of the End of the World on July 5, 1998 and the rescue of his followers by spaceshipsfrom Planet X for union with alien sex goddesses. That day came and went without apocalypse or rescue, but devotees gather on this date each year to try and figure out or explain what happened or on th...

“We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association covenant to affirm and promote…justice, equity, and compassion in human relationships.” What does it mean to promote compassion in human relationships? How have you witnessed this happening?  

I preached this sermon at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Peninsula on October 14th 2018. Now, where shall I begin? There are just so many options. Columbus Day? Confederate memorials? Taking a knee during the national anthem? The Pentagon paying millions of dollars to sports teams to honor the military? A US President who […]

Carol and I wanted to get outdoors one last time before the rain came in. “Let’s go fishing,” I said. So we grabbed our fishing tackle and went down to Sawyer Creek. We didn’t catch anything except weeds. A man walking by told us, “You’ll probably do better if…” “If we go buy fish at … Continue reading "In Sawyer Creek"

For those celebrating, we wish you a meaningful Fourth of July! Continue reading Happy Fourth of July to those who celebrate at The Wild Hunt.

A good example of the relationship between the concrete and abstract comes from people's understanding of Educational Sloyd. If, in the early days of manual arts in schools, you were to mention Educational Sloyd, people assumed you were talking about a series of useful models to be made by students. That error is made today as well. What Otto Salomon had in mind, however, was not a series of models, but rather a series of exercises that represented the development of skill and character. The models were simply the means of delivery for those exercises. The various model series were arranged based on those deeper abstract concepts.  The same goes for my  books. The idea is not to make stuff, (though that may be the idea that readers hav...

Something has to bring peace. Only a day late this week so maybe this is #177 1/7. Hah. Hiking everyday since we left Portland on the 27th – including some miles on the pacific crest trail in the Columbia gorge. Now we are in the headwaters of the Columbia in British Columbia. I love the […]

Hope, love...such simple words to us.  Our All Souls ESL team experienced a much deeper meaning of these words in a recent class. The post Sharing Hope appeared first on BeyondBelief.

On July 5, 1852, abolitionist and ex-slave Frederick Douglass gave a speech at an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence, held at Rochester, New York’s Corinthian Hall. It was biting oratory, in which the speaker told his audience, “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.” And he asked them, “Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak to-day?”   In 1852 Douglass was 37 years old and already a fixture on Northern platforms.   He was not only the best known Black abolitionist, but he also spoke out on other reform issues notably his presence and support at the Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention in 1848.   He had published his first autobiography, Na...

      Today is the Fourth of July. We mark this date as the founding of our beautiful broken Republic, whose high minded ideals have been betrayed over and over and over. And yet. And yet… There was an astonishing amount of high idealism, and along with it some serious sharp dealing. Those founders […]

            SEARCHING FOR WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT A Zen Meditation for the Fourth of July Edward Sanshin Oberholtzer Joseph Priestley Zen Community Empty Moon Zen Each Tuesday morning at 7:30 Eastern time, I give what the Greater Boston Zen Center has, in its wisdom, designated as an encouragement talk. A boost […]

“Lift the veil of indifference, learn to understand one another’s plight, and share in the beauty, wonder, joy and awe of life. Love mercy and kindness, and walk humbly with one another, and with all creation. Love your neighbors as you love yourself. Give to others the full measure of your goodness, so they will … Continue reading The Veil of Indifference

Should we really celebrate freedom on July 4?

Pagans continue to protest the Stedfast Baptist Church in Texas on the one-year anniversary since the protests began. Continue reading No Hate in Texas group continues to protest and speak out at The Wild Hunt.

    THE FIFTH OF JULYWhat’s Wrong, and What Might be Right James Ishmael Ford What a time. What a time. Truthfully, too much all at once. Nine days ago, Donald Trump’s… Actually, in this regard Trump is Mitch McConnell’s cat’s paw. So, really, McConnell’s supreme court has declared Roe null and void. With that […]

A rebroadcast of the Sunday morning service from the UUA's General Assembly on June 26th.

I will be at the Central Arkansas Library Galleries at Library Square on Friday, July 8, 5-8 PM for a book signing. Since my focus will be turning more and more to education and reshaping the way we teach kids, I'll have copies of three books available: The Wisdom of Our Hands: Crafting, A Life, The Guide to Woodworking With Kids, and Making Classic Toys that Teach.  The Gallery at Library Square sells my work in Little Rock, and I'll also be delivering a few new boxes to them for sale. Watch the gallery's facebook page for more information about the event. https://www.facebook.com/gallerylibrarysquare/ Make, fix and create. Assist others in learning likewise.

Forget the parades and fireworks--take to the streets and protest this Independence Day. This is Independence Day weekend, but the United State’s annual birthday party is at best subdued for many of us while others now see it as a hypocritical mockery this year in light of recent developments.   First, two plus years of coronavirus isolation and the anti-science, anti-fact cult that grew up around it has shattered shared community and divided us into hostile tribes unalterably changing us in ways we can barely imagine. Then we were shocked to our core last year by the January 6 attack on the Capitol.   At first it seemed a chaotic but oddly comical insurrection.   But as investigations have rolled at agonizing pace we realize that i...

After I left Oxford, I spent the weekend in Prague. Like my time in Oxford, the trip was primarily work related. I was there visiting the Czech photographer Libuše Jarcovjáková. Her show at FotoFest 2022 will be held at First Houston. My father and I are curating it and the objective of the visit was […]

I was contacted by someone who feels called to Paganism, but they’re struggling to let go of Christianity. I’ve been there – I know it’s hard. This is a process that will be helpful to anyone who’s trying to break free from unhealthy religion.

      Me, I’m the first television generation. Those just a couple of years older or born somewhere other than on the coasts are not. They are firmly radio generation. And, while I did listen some to radio, we had a television much earlier than people in our financial circumstances probably should have. As […]

“We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to … Continue reading A Compassionate Life

I found the loveliest reference photo for my last leaf drawing, but got only about 1/20 of the way through actually drawing it before I had to go to sleep, and in the subsequent two days I haven’t had any more energy for that or the new daily project of some other kind of art: […]

We’ve been carrying a canoe across the country. Here we are in Wisconsin, right on the Fox River. It was time to put the canoe in the water. Misty and Darren lent us some life vests. We decided to start with Sawyer Creek, a tributary of the Fox River. We drove to West Algoma Park, … Continue reading "On Sawyer Creek, Oshkosh, Wis."

Growing up, I did not understand why some celebrated Independence Day with cheers, while others chose not to celebrate. Recently, after the passage of the Juneteenth law, I am beginning to understand. Why celebrate a holiday fully if one is not free? Continue reading Opinion: Why Frederick Douglass Was Right at The Wild Hunt.

Please join us on Sunday (3 July 2022) for “The State of the Union:  Suprisingly, Not as Bad as it Seems” with Amanda Lawrence and friends. It is a hard and dangerous time for human rights in this country of that there is no doubt. However, believe it or not, we are in a better … Continue reading "All-Ages Worship (3 July 2022)"

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

Summer religious education is more art and activity-based. All children and youth are with us in the service for the first 20 minutes or so and then are dismissed to their activities. Children and youth are invited to paint their own chalices with Ash McLain and a 2nd teacher TBD this Sunday. Middle and High … Continue reading "Children and Youth Religious Education for 3 July 2022"

Every month, we dedicate all of our non-pledge income to an organization doing the work that best embodies our Unitarian Universalist principles and values. For July 2022, we have chosen Gingerbread House — a child advocacy center here in Shreveport providing comprehensive services for victims of child abuse and their non-offending caregivers in Northwest Louisiana. … Continue reading "Gingerbread House — July 2022 Give-Away-The-Plate Recipient"

Please join us next Tuesday (5 July 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.

      Herman Hesse was born on this day, the 2nd of July, 1877. I actually had the privilege of reflecting at greater length about Hesse in a post two weeks ago. But for here, a small literary appreciation. How a writer can help a questing heart. In my adolescence I stumbled upon a […]

Elie Wiesel , the Holocaust survivor , public witness , and novelist died on July 2, 2016 at the age of 86 passed in his adopted home of New York.   The world paused to mourn a figure who came to be identified as one of the secular saints of the modern era with the likes of Mohandas Gandhi , Martin Luther King , Nelson Mandela , the Dalai Lama, and ThíchNhất Hạnh—men who embodied a spiritual quest for justice and a challenge for all peoples to rise above the squalor and horror of hate.    It was something he did not aspire to and which he resisted for as long as he could.   He came to it as Jonah came to Nineveh in the Biblical story after defying the call, being swallowed by the Big Fish and then spit out.   There, the story...

Compassion comes from roots that mean “to suffer with.” How do we develop a capacity to recognize another person’s pain and have it change the way we act and react? What are ways you practice compassion? Over the course of July, Daily Compass will loosely use Karen Armstrong’s framework in her book Twelve Steps to … Continue reading Compassion

The Saturday 10:30 AM weekly meditation group with Larry Androes will not be meeting this Saturday (2 July 2022). This group will resume their weekly meetings next Saturday (9 July 2022). This group has sitting Buddhist meditation including a brief introduction to mindfulness meditation, 20 minutes of sitting, and followed by a weekly teaching. The … Continue reading "This Week Only — No Meditation Group (2 July 2022)"

My curly maple jewelry chests are far enough along now to show more than a box full of loose parts. Assembly and the fitting of drawers and doors is now complete including magnetic catches on the side doors. A chest like this is as complex as most of the large pieces of furniture I've made, so that explains why bringing it to this stage languished in my shop for almost a decade while I was busy with other things. I was at the point of either throwing all my earlier work away, or putting in the effort to complete them (there are two). I've still a lot to do on them before the finish is applied. Make, fix and create...  

Germany and Nigeria signed an agreement today transferring ownership of more than a thousand artifacts from the collection known as the Benin Bronzes, which were looted by the British in 1897. Continue reading Benin Bronzes to be repatriated to Nigeria from Germany at The Wild Hunt.

Please join us on Saturday (2 July 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 (2 July 2022)"

  “We are on the verge of a major victory and the achievement of the first phase of the Common Start vision. Now is the time to make our voices heard and push hard for the affordable, accessible early education child care system we know is possible!” Common Start Coalition: The Common Start Agenda     To begin the process of providing adequate Childcare in Massachusetts, we must pass the child care bill H.4795/S.2883, An Act to Expand Access to read more... The post Send a Letter: It’s Time to Provide Adequate Child Care in Massachusetts appeared first on Promise the Children.

Part of what I've been up to over the last few years has been to examine learning, how we learn, and how we can design schooling to be responsive to how we learn best. I've been extremely lucky to have the woodshop at the Clear Spring School as a laboratory for my own growth. Now,  with my retirement from Clear Spring School, I'm in need of additional ways to share what I've learned. In my book, The Wisdom of Our Hands, I was only able to touch the surface of all that's known about the subject of how our hands form the foundations of character and intellect for the child, and also for society at large. The following link is to an interesting article on the relationship between movement and brain development that should be informing ever...

On-to-Ottawa marchers board freight cars at Regina, Saskatchewan on July 1, 1935 to take their demands for improvements to Federal Relief Camps, fair pay, and treatment directly to the Prime Minister and Parliament. It was 1935, the midst of the Great Depression.   Times were hard in Canada, maybe even harder than in the big neighbor to the south.   Down in the States Franklin D. Roosevelt was rolling out the New Deal and practical programsto help the army of the unemployed, not the least of which was the hugely popular and successful Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).   But the Dominion was firmly in the hands of the Conservative Party led by Prime Minister R. B. Bennett, ideological devotees of Laissez-faire capitalism, allies of th...

(updated May 27, 2022) Friends, The current case-load in Los Alamos County has passed the threshold that we set for what we consider to be in the safety zone. After consultation with the COVID Safety Team, we will be *requiring* masking for all people ages 3 and up while in the building. Coffee hour will …<p> Live In-person Worship Resumes! Read More »

Integrity can also mean a sense of being whole. Pressures in our world often pull us in different directions, fragmenting our sense of self. We often find ourselves broken and needing to put the pieces back together. What are your strategies for spiritual wholeness?  

The difference between a refugee and an asylum seeker calls us into a compassionate response.

In a post-Rose world, some technology advocates have concerns about devices and advice on how to maintain your privacy. Continue reading Concerns over digital tracking in a post-Roe world at The Wild Hunt.

Subscribers to Woodworker West Magazine can watch for the next issue (July/August) to come in the mail. It includes an excerpt from my book Wisdom of Our Hands: Crafting, A Life . The excerpt comes from my chapter on developing technique and includes a few photos of my furniture not included in the book. This is the first time I've had anything in that magazine due to it being exactly what the title suggests, Woodworker West  having works from the western half of  the US. Arkansas doesn't quite make that cut. Among the photos featured with the excerpt is this cherry cabinet that I did for the Horn Collection of American Crafts. Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning likewise.

          Another violation of humanity, another sacrifice of our children. Aside from the usual suspects of our finger-pointing, we do well to take a look within. “Swords into plowshares” is but a dream; the reverse is more the truth.           We love violence. Young and old, most of what we see is found primarily in […]

         In like a lion, out like a lamb; make way for April showers and the promise of spring. Such is the month of March, named after the Roman god Mars, successor to Ares of the Greeks who began as an agricultural deity but became quarrelsome, leading to fights, which led to wars. Good choice […]

          As I reflect on the nature of Zen come West I am near endlessly fascinated at the variety of its forms. No doubt the majority of folk who talk about Zen on social media have simply read a book, usually by Alan Watts, but perhaps a bit more deeply, and […]

An artist rendition of what Siberian natives saw in the sky before the explosion that has come to be known as the Tunguska Event. It was the largest impact event on or near Earth in recorded history.   An explosion three to six miles above the surface of the Earth is estimated to have been in the range of 10–15 megatons of TNT—about 1,000 times greater than that of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.   It knocked down virtually everything standing in 830 square miles , shook the Earth the equivalent of a 5.0 earthquake on the Richter scale, caused fluctuation in atmospheric pressure measured in London, and caused a stratospheric cloud of ice crystals to orbit the Earth for months affecting the climate of the Northern Hemisphere ....

“Come, every person of every race, ethnicity, creed, sexuality, gender identity and expression, sex, political belief, class, age, and ability. Let us come together, learn from one another. Let us build Beloved Community together, not because we’re all the same. Our differences matter, but not so much that we can’t find community with one another. … Continue reading At The Table

My bathroom trip was really rough It brought on an anxiety attack And it emptied me completely out And when it was all over I went into the kitchen and On my smartphone I searched for Side effects of overdosing on painkillers I wanted my pain to end And ‘cause of probable liver damage I … Continue reading My Bathroom Trip Was Really Rough

My bathroom trip was really rough It brought on an anxiety attack And it emptied me completely out And when it was all over I went into the kitchen and On my smartphone I searched for Side effects of overdosing on painkillers I wanted my pain to end And ‘cause of probable liver damage I … Continue reading My Bathroom Trip Was Rally Rough

Dad-in-law and Nancy live near Sawyer Creek near where it drains into the Fox River. So that’s a natural destination when we go out for walks. I went out walking around Sawyer Creek this morning, starting along the north side near Eagle Street, crossing the creek at North Westfield, then following along the south bank … Continue reading "Sawyer Creek, Oshkosh, Wis."

After spending so much time with willows and learning how many kinds there are, I now realize that I see them around me all the time. Walking in and around the Point Reyes National Seashore, for example, as I’ve been doing for the past few days. Willows, willows, everywhere, and I never recognized them before […]

UUA Communications: Periodicals As the organizers of the 2022 assembly had promised, the reimagined multiplatform event in Portland was no business as usual. Continue reading "A GA Business experience like no other"

Recent research studying the impacts of past climate change and the Ice Ages could hold clues for what the future may hold and the world might adapt and thrive. Continue reading Spain’s Mediterranean coast offers insights on climate pre-history and responses to climate change at The Wild Hunt.

As we end Pride month, we must remember that living one’s truth can be deadly in many parts of the world.

Abbey Tennis We must choose each other again and again, though conflict and through plenty. Continue reading "Loving with a Broken Heart"

More than 3,200 UUs from all 50 states came together virtually and in Portland, OR for this year's General Assembly. Delegates participated in voting democratically on denominational business and attendees joined in worship, workshops and justice making during the conference. Continue reading "Unitarian Universalists Reaffirm Commitment to Racial and Reproductive Justice at General Assembly: More than 3,200 UUs come together for annual meeting"

A young Emma Goldman  in her mug shot after her arrest for conspiring with her lover Alexander Berkman  in an assassination attempt on steel baron Henry Clay Frick. Note— I have posted this poem before, but the two women are particular favorites of mine and I immodestly think that the poem is one of my better efforts.   I also think that they would be astute commentators on the attempted re-subjugation of women by the Supreme Court and Red State governors and legislators.   Emma, of course, a champion of free love and sexual liberation, would never have had faith in the courts to protect women.   An advocate of militant direct action, she would be loudly calling for a real revolution.   Helen, the Wobbly and Socialist, might be s...

"Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be beautiful or believe to be useful."—William Morris.  And yet, there may be things that appear pretty on their surface that lack beauty, for beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the beholder may be looking more deeply into things. What about objects that represent the enslavement of man to industrial processes? What of things that come to us from the pillaging of the earth's resources, a bit of beauty brought here at the cost of great loss in other places or to the earth itself? And then there are things that glow from an inner beauty in that they represent the maker's growth, a thing not seen quickly or at first glance. And then there's that beauty that's found in relationshi...

I had a drawing teacher at the Educational Center for the Arts, Avner Moriah, who said that when you really, really wanted to get what you saw onto the paper, you would work so hard you would cry. I looked at the light on this leaf and thought, I would work on that until I […]

The spellcasting has already started and it will continue until fundamental rights are restored. I encourage everyone who’s angry and frustrated with this injustice to think through their responses, and to use their magic in the most effective ways possible.

“But on this holy night, That early morning of June 28, The people said ‘not tonight.’ As they called to them to line up, The transwomen refused to go.” -from “On A Holy Night in 1969,” by Rev. Otto O’Connor How can you honor the people who refused to submit to police violence on that … Continue reading Stonewall

What a month… June had its ups and it had its downs for all of us. Following the Soul Matter’s monthly themes this month the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair, New Jersey focused on “celebrating blessings.” Since the Supreme Court’s terrible decision to overturn Roe V. Wade, many people, especially women, are not feeling so […] The post Celebrate our blessings and then take a stand appeared first on Nature's Sacred Journey.

I thought I overheard someone say, “The Supreme Court backed coaches preying on the field.” Preying? You mean, preying on children and teens…? It took me a moment to realize that the Supreme Court was not supporting child-molesting coaches, but was instead allowing coaches to offer supplication to their deity before and after sports games. … Continue reading "Coaches"

What we learned from our road trip so far: Driving just five hours a day means you have two or more hours each day for a visit with a friend or relative, or a hike in a park or wildlife refuge. Much better than driving 8-10 hours a day, as we used to do. When … Continue reading "Oshkosh, Wis."

It was March 2020, you know the week.   I’m sitting in my home office.  Just a few feet away, my two teenagers are in the living room “homeschooling.” A few feet from them, my partner is at the kitchen table. It is … Continue reading →

UUSC partners warn the military could weaponize aid to silence critics.

Taken with a Ricoh GR Just click on the photo to enlarge it   Taken in September 2016, this photo shows the chancel arch in St Mary the Virgin in Strethall, Essex, taken from near the altar looking towards the north. The church guide cites H. M. Taylor’s  Anglo-Saxon Architecture in which the arch is described as “one of the finest examples of Anglo-Saxon workmanship in smaller parish churches.” The light was such that, unusually for me (when photographing the inside of a church anyway), I chose to use the camera’s very high contrast black and white setting to take the shot. This kind of setting is the one I have most often used for street photography, including the photo I posted a few weeks ago, and I use it on the street b...

The US Supreme Court upheld a coach's right to pray at the 50-yard line after a high school football game. How it affects other faiths remains an open question. Continue reading Supreme Court upholds right to pray on the 50-yard line: Can Pagans now Circle there also? at The Wild Hunt.

With Ricky Tucker | As a writer who narrows in on very specific LGBTQ artists, collectives, media, embodied experiences, and sensibilities, I’m not the broadest or most Olympic-level reader. I read selectively, slowly, and with intent. And I absorb media like everything bears repeating.

Friday was my final day in Oxford. And so, consummate foodie and lover of books that I am, I thought I would offer a few comments about libraries and restaurants in Oxford. I spent most of my time working in Harris Manchester College’s Tate Library. The college started life as an institution to train Unitarian […]

Ministry Days and General Assembly were wonderful and also surreal. This was our first plane adventure since March 1, 2020; our first time hugging lots of people whom we’ve not seen in real life (irl) for so long or had never hugged because we had ... read more . The post Co-Ministers’ Colloquy – June 28th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Come help serve summer lunch with SCM Summer Meals Program, feeding the 80% of Schenectady school children who qualify for free school lunch. Volunteers are needed to pack and distribute lunches, play games and do crafts projects with the kids. UUSS is scheduled July 11-15 ... read more . The post Schenectady Community Ministry Summer Meals Program appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Another mystery born of jotting down just a common name from my 1982 field guide. When I searched on the name “northwest willow,” I got Salix exigua, which I already drew a couple of weeks ago (common names: sandbar willow, narrowleaf willow, or coyote willow–not northwest willow, according to Wikipedia, but there you are). Hm. […]

The Stonewall was a dive bar operated by the Mob in New York's Greenwich Village.  It's patrons were outcasts and the most flamboyant of a rough streets scene--young hustlers, drag queens, butch lesbians.  It was also an inter-racial scene that attracted police attention.  Wealthier and more respectable Gays gathered and partied more discretely in posh clubs that authorities usually ignored. Pride Month is drawing to a closewith the anniversary of an unexpected uprising that started it all.   After two years of disruptionsdue the coronavirus pandemic parades and lavish celebrations are back.   The internet is awash in rainbowPride Flags and the updatesto include transgender and People of Color.   Those additions are particularly ap...