This month’s Soul Matters theme is Perseverance, or “What does it mean to be a people of perseverance?” When we think of persevering, we think of sticking with something, even when we want to quit or put it off, or after we have failed to hold to our good intent, or when we despair that […]
Here’s a homework suggestion for the New Year. No, seriously, if you take the time to do this, you might thank me. It looks like four pages, but it’s really just two; one you can skim, one is blank, and only two take some thinking. Simply read through the Introduction to the Soul Matters materials […]
Think of this column as a soft cloth sack of December, Hanukkah, Yule, Christmas, Kwanzaa greetings and wishes from me. There are three small gift bags inside that look like I got them from Jan at Honeysuckle Hollow. If you take a moment to unwrap each one and sit with it and turn it over […]
This I Believe. Pause with these three words. Repeat them to yourself; each time changing the words you emphasize. Feel the differences of meaning and the possibilities for uncovering one of your foundational guiding personal insights. Remember when NPR had a program where people shared their 3-500-word responses to this prompt. Over the years we […]
Thank you. Thank you for sending me off and welcoming me back. Thank you for the break and the encouragement to take a real break. This wasn’t merely time away from the office. I didn’t try my usual mixed up stay-cation, I went on a true vacation. For the first time in years, I vacated […]
It is good to be back. My sabbatical was just what it needed to be; that rare gift that made it possible for me to be fully present so that big transitions in life became real shifts in me. In the service on Valentine’s Day, the children (with a lot of helpers) surprised me by unrolling a […]
A Natural Bridge – Monthly Letter from Our Minister First, let me share my schedule for the month of February. During the first week, you have helped make it possible for me to attend the third UU Institute for Excellence in Ministry. This one will be held at the Asilomar Retreat Center in Monterey, California. It is […]
A Natural Bridge – Monthly Letter from Our Minister The New Year begins with Integrity as the worship theme for January. It’s a good beginning. Integrity concerns morality and goodness, wholeness and connection; it’s about being in right relationship with one’s vision of oneself. As we think of New Year’s resolutions, even those of us who refuse […]
A Natural Bridge – Monthly Letter from Our Minister The worship theme fits December well: “Wonder: What Does It Mean To Be a People of Wonder?” It is a wonderful month; Christmas, Solstice, Hanukah, new baby, light and joy, goodness and hope. And then as every one of us knows, December can also be painful […]
Our theme for November is Grace as in the larger question: “What Does It Mean To Be a People of Grace?” The way I understand grace is central to my overall religious understanding. I may not know how to live as gracefully as I’d like, but I experience grace as present and real. Some of […]