Today is the Federal Holiday honoring Christopher Columbus, the alleged discover of the New World, who made his first landfall on the island of San Salvador on October 12, 1492. Years ago, Congress, in all of its wisdom assigned the holiday to the second Monday in October to make way for a possible three day week-end for the few people who get the day off—or possibly to extend the giant mattress sales that seem to have become one of the most visible traditions of the holiday. The trouble is Columbus has been falling out of favor for some time, except among the Italian-Americans who used his Italian roots to claim their spot at the American table. The Columbus Day parades in the big cities are less about the Navigator—an iron...
I live on the lands of the Kitchawan and Wappinger peoples, at the northern edge of the great Lenape Nation, which stretches out to my south. To my north are the lands of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. The peoples on whose lands I live are still here, and their culture is very much alive, and it … Continue reading Indigenous Peoples
The Universalist National Memorial Church held a convocation on October 7, 2023 entitled “Universalist Jubilee: Its Legacy and Promise.” The video will become available at some point and I will link it here, but in the meantime these are the notes from my part of the service. Friends, where have we as Universalist come from? … Continue reading "Remembering Universalist Heritage at Jubilee celebration"
In this sermon given in advance of Indigenous Peoples Day, I link the current conflict in Israel-Palestine to the ongoing process of colonialism in the Western Hemisphere and the Doctrine of Discovery. The post Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery appeared first on Colin Bossen.
A film where Christopher Lee performs real ceremonial magic techniques should be a shoo-in for our Classics of Pagan Cinema, right? Not so fast, writes Meg Elison, who reviews the 1968 film "The Devil Rides Out" and finds it not just flawed, but repellent. Continue reading (Not a) Classic of Pagan Cinema: The Devil Rides Out at The Wild Hunt.
I have never been one who has been much into meditation. Too much silence is involved and it often seems to require sitting still as well. Labyrinths I like, walking meditation. I like altars, but more for building meaning and beauty, and not so much for contemplation. I like enthusiastic worship best. If the theology […]
We seem to be endlessly fascinated by people’s last words. They are often taken as summations of people’s lives. And perhaps that’s so. At least on occasion. Pretty much everyone knows of Oscar Wilde’s last words said in a […]
A short “ thought for the day” was offered to the Cambridge Unitarian Church as part of the Sunday Service of Mindful Meditation. —o0o— One of the things that is very hard for many people properly to understand about the creative, free-spiritual tradition in which a church like the Cambridge Unitarian Church stands, is its willingness, both for itself and its members, continually to claim the freedom to be tomorrow what it, or they, are not today. This radical openness to change inevitably cuts against most people’s idea of religion as expressing something stable and long-lasting, even eternal and it can easily appear as if there is nothing at all that is stable and long-lasting about the creative, free-spiritual traditio...
My favorite part of gardening is when native plants show up and bloom all on their own! Asters are all around the edges of our yard, and in so many other Maine yards in our neighborhood right now. Different varieties, all beloved by pollinators, tiny beautiful blossoms when you look closely. My least favorite part […]
The Chicago and Peshtigo, Wisconsin fires of October 8, 1871 were just two of the deadly blazes that swept the upper Midwest that day. Libraries in Illinois and Wisconsin hosted a virtual on-line discussion on the 150th anniversary during the Covid year of 2021. You may have noticed that this is National Fire Protection Week. The annual event is marked by news stories extolling the virtues of smoke alarms and family fire evacuation drills. Your local fire station may host school field trips or an open house—maybe they will let you climb on an engine or even slide down a pole. Ask and you will be told that this week was selected because the Great Chicago Fire broke out on October 8, 1871. This is the anniversary of that co...
My grandmother, Bapcia if you will, came from Poland at the beginning of the 20th century along with many others escaping political strife and hunger. Dad always said his mother was 13 when she left everyone and everything she had ever known to set out for a new better world in Chicopee MA. She had … Continue reading Finding A Better Life
Please join us on Sunday (8 October 2023) at 11:00 AM for “The Paradox of Holding Space” by Rev. Barbara Jarrell. 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 71106 if you are able to do so. … Continue reading "All Ages Worship (8 October 2023)"
For this Sunday (8 October 2023), our children (Pre-K thru Grade 5) will be using a program adapted from Moral Tales (a Tapestry of Faith curriculum by Alice Anacheka Nasemann and Elisa Davy Pearmain). The class resumes this week with “Faith, Hope, and Prayer” — introducing tools and practices to help us discern the path … Continue reading "Pre-K thru Grade 5 Children’s Religious Education (8 October 2023)"
This class is an exploration of our eight Unitarian Universalist principles through artistic expression. The class resumes this Sunday (8 October 2023) with an exploration of the second principle — “Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations.” The All8 curriculum is the creation of Jil Novenski (Director of Religious Education — Community Unitarian Universalist Church … Continue reading "Middle and High School Youth Religious Education (8 October 2023)"
There is no adult religious education class this Sunday (8 October 2023). The adult class will resume on 15 October 2023. Next Sunday (15 October 2023), our adult religious education class will resume at 9:00 AM. Our adult religious education class is now a dual-platform class — meeting in person in the church social hall … Continue reading "No 8 October 2023 Online / In-Person Adult Religious Education — Class Resumes 15 October 2023"
Bring a favorite dish — or your favorite thing to grab from Kroger — and join us after the 8 October 2023 worship service for our monthly potluck featuring live music from Bob Jordan (guitar and vocals), Gail Burt (vocals and piano), and Jean Kelly (percussion). Join us even if you just bring yourself — … Continue reading "Second Sunday Potluck with Live Music (8 October 2023)"
Please join us next Wednesday (11 October 2023) at 12 noon for our weekly Zoom lunch. Our weekly Zoom lunch is going dual-platform — join us from home using Zoom or in person in the social hall. Bring your lunch and meet up with your All Souls friends, have lunch, and just catch up.
UUA President the Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt shares a statement on the recent tragic flare of violence between Israel and Hamas. Continue reading "Statement from UUA President Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt Regarding the Conflict Between Israel and Hamas"
Three things mark this season of death and remembrance for me: the severe drop in temperatures; the death anniversaries of many in my family, most specifically my parents; and the perceived closeness of the ancestors as the veils thin. Continue reading Death and Fruitcake at The Wild Hunt.
William Laud was born on this day, the 7th of October, in 1573. He was born into a family of clothiers, attended local schools, and then studied at St John’s College, in Oxford. He took his BA in 1594, his MA in 1598, and his doctorate in 1608. He was ordained deacon in January and […]
Note: The exceptionally brutal murder of young Matthew Shepard 25 years ago triggered a national debate and a movement that led to the adoption of hate crime laws across the country. Many considered it a game changer. In subsequent years public acceptance of homosexuality and homosexuals steadily grew as did legal protections against discrimination and stunning victories including the legal recognition of same gender marriage rights. Many thought that the bad old days of queer bashing for sport and the like were gone for good. But as in so many other areas the Trump era was a Band-Aid that rips off a scab on a bleeding wound when removed. Nationally as well as they can be tracked violent assaults and murders of Gay m...
My great-great grandfather, Samuel Hanscom, fought in the Civil War, and was held as a prisoner of war in the south. I do not have any details about Samuel’s capture, but I do know that over 400,000 people were sent to prisoner of war camps during the Civil War; and almost 13,000 people died in … Continue reading Sacrifice and Trauma
After all, isn’t contemporary Paganism somewhat akin to this very church? A relic from ages past that fell or nearly fell out of used, only to be rediscovered and refitted in order to conform to both the needs of a new age, and the idea we modern men have of a sacred past? Continue reading The Stone-Barrow and the Stave-Church at The Wild Hunt.
One facet of very localized climate justice work is through our Green Sanctuary 2030 program and we invite all UU congregations to join us - either once or as part of your Green Sanctuary process. Green Sanctuary 2030: Mobilizing for Climate Justice anchors to the reality that we need to reduce emissions dramatically by 2030 if we are to avoid some of the worst impacts of climate change. The Green Sanctuary process provides a framework for congregations to adopt a justice-centered, comprehensive approach that can support congregations to hit Net Zero. Our community meetings provide shared learning and mutual supports for UUs transforming their congregations through climate justice. So, while we all know we need to reduce emission...
“Disability Justice builds on the disability rights movement, taking a more comprehensive approach to help secure rights for disabled people by recognizing the intersectionality of disabled people who belong to additional marginalized communities. Disability justice is a framework that acknowledges the intersection of oppression, and centers the ways that disabled people experience the world through systems that are not built for us, especially the twice, thrice and more oppressed among us.” - Rev. Amanda Schuber, Side With Love Disability Justice Associate Welcome our new staff! We are excited to welcome two new colleagues to the UUA, both of whom are holding accessibility and disability justice in their portfolios. At Side With Lov...
Please join us on Saturday (7 October 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 (7 October 2023)"
Staff Writer The Fall/Winter 2023 issue of UU World explores stories of spiritual journeys and practices, pathways for connecting with others, and actions for creating justice in the greater world. We invite you to use the following questions for reflection, or to spark a guided conversation in your own congregation or small group.
The popular image of the Captain comes from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's The Courtship of Miles Standish. In this 19th Century illustration of the narrative poem the disappointed suitor/soldier escorts the wedding procession of John Alden and Pricilla Mullins. Thanks to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow he is one of the few original settlers of Plymouth Plantation who most people know by name. The Courtship of Miles Standish, Longfellow’s long poem , was among the most beloved verse of the 19th Century and snatches of it were recited by school children who learned it by rote . While seldom read these days many still know the central story of how a shy, tongue-tied soldier asked his best friend John Alden to speak to the object of h...
Peace Is This Moment Without Judgment by Dorothy Hunt Do you think peace requires an end to war?Or tigers eating only vegetables?Does peace require an absence fromyour boss, your spouse, yourself?…Do you think peace will come some other place than … Continue reading →
I’m slowly making my way through a 19,000 word article on Confucian quiet-sitting — “A Study of Cheng Yi’s Quiet-Sitting Meditation and Other Contemplative Practices in the Confucian Context” by Bin Song, Mandala Texts (2023), 1-46 (https://doi.org/10.57010/NCGZ4591. Accessed October 6, 2023.) Not only is it a fascinating article, it might have a real-world effect on … Continue reading "Confucian quiet-sitting"
For many people, thinking about ancestors is painful because our ancestors did real and lasting harm while they were alive. For some of us, that harm lives on in family systems that must be carefully dismantled. And for some of us, truth-telling about the harm our ancestors did is the beginning of a long pathway … Continue reading Reconciling Harm
A Pagan shop in rural Pennsylvania gets a police chief visit about offering divination services that are illegal in that state. Continue reading Pagan Shop gets Police Chief warning about PA “Fortune-Telling” laws at The Wild Hunt.
October 5, 2023. My post about the Finnish Quakers and their small numbers received some welcome private comment and I want to put this back on the top of my list. Last month, I proposed ten kinds of resources that might already exist to help very small churches. A commenter suggested an eleventh. I’d like … Continue reading "Correcting resources for very small churches"
Sunday, October 8 Welcome the Mystery Led by Rev. Stephen Shick We are raised to seek facts and revere knowledge. We believe knowing will bring us security and a degree of certainty. Mystery, on the other hand, can be filled with uncertainty and beyond the reach of knowledge. This Sunday we’ll explore the liberating paradox that [ … ] The post Sunday, October 8 ~ Welcome the Mystery ~ 10:30 a.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.
My Dad called me recently to share that my Aunt Janice, one of his two sisters, hadpassed away. This news was sudden and jarring, mostly because I was expecting newslike this to be about my uncle (Janice’s husband), who lives … Continue reading →
Angélica Canlas Castro I am so proud of my trans daughter, and I am ecstatic for the world to see and experience what the embodiment of revolutionary love looks like.
UUA President Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt appoints Adrienne K. Walker to become the Association’s new general counsel. She replaces Thomas Bean of Verrill Dana, who is retiring. Bean had been the UUA’s general counsel since 2011. Continue reading "Adrienne Walker is Appointed the UUA’s New General Counsel"
Back in April I had the great pleasure and honour to play bass with Chris Ingham (piano and voice), Paul Higgs (trumpet) and George Double (drums) on a second CD of Hoagy Carmichael’s songs. The first CD, recorded in 2014, was very well received and reviewed (see for example this review in the Observer). Well, the second CD is out now and, I’m pleased to say, also seems to be being well received, as this review in the London Jazz Times will reveal. If the reviews intrigue or even excite you, then you can buy CDs or downloads directly from Chris Ingham’s website: https://www.chrisingham.co.uk/hoagy Left to right: Me, Chris Ingham, George Double, Paul Higgs Recording the CD
Gary Whited is one of my favourite contemporary poets and, on a few occasions, I have chosen to centre my Sunday address on one of his poems [see HERE for example]. In recent years, I have also been lucky to get to know him personally, firstly via email and, later via Zoom. Anyway, in our last conversation, I was excited to learn that his new book will shortly be published, and he’s just sent me the flyer for that event. I realise most of you won’t be anywhere near this book launch in Cambridge, MA (not Cambridge, UK!), but you might be persuaded to purchase a copy of the book. Having seen an earlier draft, I can recommend it wholeheartedly along with, naturally, Gary’s first book,“Having Listened.”
Tomorrow I'll head to Worcester, MA to meet my grand daughter Sylvie for the first time. In the shop today I've finished assembling blocks of inlay, so I can inlay box lids when I return. Have you ever wondered how decisions are made, and how necessary change begins to take place? I've been watching the news and the complete chaos in the House of Representatives. I called my congressman this morning to express my concerns that our representatives need to awaken to the necessity of working together, for the benefit of all. Philosopher William James shared some wisdom on the subject in his 1890 book, Principles of Psychology, as follows: "We know what it is to get out of bed on a freezing morning in a room without a fire, and how the...
Jenny Lind in an 1861 daguerreotype taken in New York City age 31. Before 1850 when showman P. T. Barnum brought the Swedish soprano Jenny Lind to these shores for a legendary and triumphant tour, the young United States had celebrities, but no stars in the sense of a performing artist of such renown as to be a household word to millions who might never see her in person. Entertainment itself was suspect as a gateway to sin and sloth in much of the country, especially if indulged in by the lower classes who should not be tempted from their 10-12 hours a day, six days a week labor for their employees and a Sabbath dedicated to pointing out to them what sinful, undes...
The pieces of a quilt are carefully sewn together, making patterns and designs that no piece alone can capture. Each of us is also a patchwork of experiences, lessons, and more. Each of us has been carefully pieced together, hopefully with love in every stitch. What piece of you can you celebrate today?
Republican Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy just joined TikTok to the dismay of WitchTok. Curses follow. Continue reading Ramaswamy joins TikTok and promptly cursed at The Wild Hunt.
Few people know how to take a walk. The qualifications are endurance, plain clothes, old shoes, an eye for nature, good humor, vast curiosity, good speech, good silence and nothing too much. Ralph Waldo Emerson My mother and I parted … Continue reading →
Ripples of Creativity Have you noticed how creative ideas and events inspire other innovations? And the more you pay attention, the more you see? We have! And we’re excited to make it an intentional practice that spreads the joy far and wide. Ripples of Creativity, the second section of the Canadian Unitarian Council’s Call & […] The post Ripples of Creativity first appeared on Canadian Unitarian Council Conseil unitarien du Canada. The post Ripples of Creativity appeared first on Canadian Unitarian Council Conseil unitarien du Canada.
Cory Doctorow wrote a lengthy blog post on how evil Google has become. I already knew that Google search results have declined in quality over the past few years. But I didn’t realize how bad it’s gotten. Here’s how Doctorow describes it: “When you send a query to Google, it expands that query with terms … Continue reading "Google is even more evil than I knew"
Sarita Gonzales , Candice Bautista-Biddle , Martha Bautista-Biddle , Chris Long Four Unitarian Universalists reflect on what brought them to the faith—and what keeps them coming back.
Thunder Rolling Down the Valley--Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce in1877. On October 5, 1877 Hinmuuttu-yalatlat —Thunder Rolling Down the Valley—surrendered the battered and exhausted survivors of his Willowa band to U.S. Army troops under the command of General Nelson A. Miles in the Bear Paw Mountains of the Montana Territory, less than 40 miles south of the Canadian border . Known to his pursuers as Chief Joseph, the 37 year old had helped lead his band on an epic 1,600 mile fighting retreat across modern Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana in hopes of finding refuge and safety in the land of “The Grandmother Queen.” Young Joseph , as he would come to be called was...
The poster boy for tortured genius novelists, Thomas Wolfe hemorrhaged gorgeous prose, lush descriptive passages, and sharp characterizations that others hammered into readable books. It was 1966. With typical ambition Elaine Zelznick, the young drama teacher and theater director at Niles West High School in Skokie , Illinois had selected a noted Broadway serious drama as the class play. Look Homeward , Angel was a bittersweet but lyrical evocation of life in an early 20th Century small Southern city as seen through the eyes of a sensitive young man coming of age. Ketti Frings adapted the well-known novel. The play earned six Tony Award nominations and the 1958 Pulitzer Prize for Drama . The leading role of Eugene Gant natura...
Today in the wood shop I'll be making inlay for boxes using a variety of Arkansas hardwoods. The process starts with play with blocks, carefully cutting them to uniform size and arranging them in a pattern of alternating colors and species that can then be glued into a long block. The woods used here are ash, sassafras, cherry, maple and walnut. This is to prepare for making inlaid box lids. Make, fix and create..
Today, the 4th of October, is celebrated as the feast of St Francis throughout the Western Christian churches. Many years ago I ran across a book describing a visit to Japan sometime before the second world war. I don’t recall a lot about it. Except, that is, for one thing. […]
The ancestors who shape our lives are not all related to us. Many are spiritual ancestors, whose teachings and guidance live on in us. Who are your spiritual ancestors?
Back in 2015, the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) developed a WordPress theme for congregational websites. It was one of the best things the UUA has done in the past 25 years, because the theme made it super easy to build an excellent website in just a few hours. Unfortunately, the UUA WordPress theme hasn’t been … Continue reading "Redesign"
The Department of Justice releases a warning about a violent online group with ties to Paganism. Continue reading The arrest of a 23-year-old has led the FBI to a cult with links to Satanism and Paganism at The Wild Hunt.
As human beings, most of us share a need to belong. When and where have you felt a real sense of belonging? This month we’ll explore what it means to belong in community, to the Earth, and with one another. How might we practice radical ... read more . The post October Theme: A Circle of Belonging appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.
Sometimes we can offer a warm welcome and a place to belong, and it will just be needed for a little bit. This past Sunday, as our service centered on creating a bolder welcome, a family visited for the first time. They were traveling, and ... read more . The post Co-Ministers’ Colloquy – Oct 3rd appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.
This Sunday, October 8th is our first Faithful Funday. Everyone will gather in for the first part of the service in the Great Hall and then children in grades kindergarten through 7th grade will go across the street to Waters House. Childcare for infants through Pre-school ... read more . The post Religious Education News – week of Sunday Oct. 8 appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.
Oct: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Juno Diaz, 2007. Nov: There, There by Tommy Orange, 2019. Dec: Call Us What We Carry: Poems by Amanda Gorman, 2021. (Dates of monthly discussions and Zoom link to be announced) The post Upcoming Reads in the BIPOC Authors Reading & Discussion group: appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.
“Solidarity is not a scarce resource in a zero-sum game. It is not an equation that divides; rather, it is one that multiplies.” — Saidiya Hartman Feminist leaders in Central and Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central and North Asia (CEECCNA) are calling for global solidarity in the face of an overlooked humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh—a […]
Dear Reader, I was angry. I was so angry that adrienne maree brown, in a course on radical permission, was…</p> The post Fat Anger and adrienne maree brown Pt. 2 appeared first on Taking Up Space.
I admire adrienne maree brown. Emergent Strategy and brown’s organizing principles of small is all, fractals, joy and liberation, and…</p> The post Fat Anger and adrienne maree brown Pt. 1 appeared first on Taking Up Space.
Our first grandchild, Sylvie, was born yesterday. She's beautiful and likely to be as smart as her mom and dad. All are tired but in good health, for which we're grateful. Just imagine what those perfect hands will create. Make, fix and create...
Heritage has at its core the word inheritance, an allotted portion. For each of us, this includes the chromosomal inheritance of our biology. This means my hazel eyes and Welsh fair skin were allotted to me by my parents. More … Continue reading →
Miles Coverdale, maker of Bibles. On this day in 1535 the first complete printed English translation of the Bible into was published. Because its translator Miles Coverdale had been on the lam in Europe for some years due to religious turmoil at home, the book was printed on the continent. For many years the exact printer and his location were in dispute but has fairly recently been established to be Merten de Keyser in Antwerp . The book was evidently financed by leading Low Countries Reformers. Coverdale himself was born in Yorkshire around 1488. He was ordained a priest in Norwich, a hotbed of religious fervor. In 1514 he joined the scholarly convent of Austin friars at Cambrid...
“Our history is always with us. Across organisms offspring receive a maternal inheritance, DNA: strands of instructions, twisted together and reaching into the future” -from “Mitochondrial Gift, by Julián Jamaica Soto What are the genetic gifts you carry from your ancestors?
One of the things I’ve been doing with my sabbatical is putting foundations under a castle in the air I’ve had in mind for several months: an advice column focused on religion and spirituality. If you’d like it to arrive in your inbox every Tuesday morning, subscribe for free by clicking on the link below. […]
In this week's Pagan community Notes: Welcome to October! The Covenant of the Goddess releases an anti-racism statement, Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC) comments on its Accreditation Program of Wicca (APW), events, happenings and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of October 2, 2023 at The Wild Hunt.
On Wednesday morning, the 27th of September, Jan drove me to the Burbank airport where I flew north to San Jose, changed planes, then continued on to Portland. There I was picked up by my friend, colleague in UU world, and in the Zen […]
All Souls Unitarian Church's senior minister Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar sat down with the hosts of The Christian and the Atheist podcast to talk about All Souls Unitarian Church, Unitarian Universalism, and the message beyond love beyond belief. The post Finding Common Ground: The Christian and the Atheist Podcast Welcomes Rev. Marlin Lavanhar appeared first on BeyondBelief.
My article about making big Froebel blocks for the Clear Spring School campus is going to appear in the next issue of Make Magazine. In addition to plans for making the blocks, discussion of their history and use, and great photos of CSS kids at play, the article presents links for extra reading, including this one from 99%invisible.org about the effects of Froebel's kindergarten on the arts. The link is here: https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/froebels-gifts/ The article in 99%invisible is a good introduction to what Kindergarten once was. And as I point out in my own article, history is important for two reasons. One is to avoid tragic circumstances from the past. The other is the possibility of restoring those very good things th...
Alexandra Varney McDonald As religious traditions across the country report dwindling memberships, Unitarian Universalism continues to attract new congregants.
Heritage. Inheritance. Heir. These words in one way or another are about the flow of life, energy, and meaning into our lives from others who have gone before us. Too often, these words are reduced to sums of money. This … Continue reading →
Note —A version of this post first appeared in 2016. Did you know October 2 is the International Day of Non-Violence ? Neither did I until stumbled on the information during my daily scrounging for something—any damn thing—to write about. My first thought was that it is such a good idea that it is no wonder it is obscure. It’s one of those United Nations observances. Right away that makes it deeply suspect here in good ol’ U . S . A . where a huge chunk of the population is still convinced that UN black helicopters supported by the minions Barak Hussein Obama are poised to swoop down and rip the guns from the hands of patriots . But other UN holidays get better press even here—International Women ’ s Day , In...
This month, we will be thinking about the spiritual and physical gifts given to us by our ancestors. We invoke the cloud of beneficial ancestors to surround us with their love. Who are the beneficial ancestors whose love surrounds you today?
In 1977, Ursula K. LeGuin wrote an introduction for her anti-war novel The Word for World Is Forest — a novel which she had begun writing in 1968. In the 1977 introduction, she said: “1968 was a bitter year for those who opposed the [Vietnam] war. The lies an hypocrises doubled; so did the killing. … Continue reading "Still going on"
Dior highlights a witchy wardrobe in their Spring collection during Parish Fashion Week while Russo includes Pagan elements in their designs during Copenhagen Fashion Week. Continue reading Occult fashion is a trend: Dior, Russo get Witchy and Pagan at The Wild Hunt.
I think that perhaps the single most important thing to try to do for you today, as an expression of my profound thanks to all of you for being here with me on this very special occasion, is to give you a sense of why, back in June of this year (2023), I asked my friend, meditation teacher, and ministerial colleague, Miki Nakura-sensei, whether I could receive a dharma name in a Kikyoshiki ceremony in which I would publicly commit to the Jōdo Shinshū path, living within Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow. To tell the whole story properly would take way too long, but I think I can tell you something helpful in a reasonably brief fashion. Looking back through my life — which is, remember, deeply rooted in the liberal, Free Christian tradition...
A sermon celebrating the launch of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston's 2023 capital campaign. The post Renew, Rebuild, Rejoice! appeared first on Colin Bossen.
We're on baby watch with our first grandchild coming in just a few days or less. When the stress level goes up, and in order to keep active and unworried about a thing, I resort to my manufacturing mode. I turn my attention toward the well-practiced, tried and true making of inlaid boxes. Years ago, I imagined myself making inlaid boxes into my 80's and here I am, turning 75 next month. I still have some productive years to go so I'll extend my imagining of continued box making into my 90's. By then I'll be old and cute and folks will clamor, "Make one for me, please!" I've made thousands of these boxes in batches of about 50 or so at a time, and the fact that I have orders and holes in my inventory, means that the world still has ...