“He drew a circle that shut me out- Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle and took him in!” —E.Markham UU’s have high principles in their respect of “the inherent worth and dignity of all persons” and “the free and responsible search for truth […]
Songs and singing feed our spirits, but where do the people who write them find spiritual inspiration? How is songwriting like meditation or prayer? Austin based folksinger and UU Steve Brooks answers these questions and more, while unearthing the hidden link between Oedipus Rex and Mama Tried. He illustrates his ideas with his songs and those of the […]
Let’s go a little deeper this time. Rev. Rebecca Parker concludes her poem, “Choose to Bless the World,” by asserting, “There is an embrace of kindness that encompasses all life, even yours. And while there is injustice, anesthetization, or evil, there moves a holy disturbance… protesting, urging, insisting that which is sacred [and life affirming] […]
The history of Mother’s Day begins in the substance and purpose of Julia Ward Howe’s proclamation of 1870: a call to women to protest war and stand for peace. Let’s reconnect our modern Mother’s Day of flowers and breakfast to that power and hope. Mothers’ care gives love and compassion form and understanding and makes them real. […]
Yes, you can! And the more you do, the more it blesses you—perhaps not in things, but in the belonging of right relationship. The title is borrowed from the poem, “Choose to Bless the World” by Rev. Rebecca Parker. The poem begins, “Your gifts—whatever you discover them to be—can be used to bless or curse the world.” […]
When we come up against something that seems overwhelming, from where do we get our ability to deal with it? A folk tale from India and the words of Rumi give us directions for living through difficult times. Rev. Belcher is the “Minister Emerita” of DuPage UU Church near Chicago, her fourth congregation in over thirty years […]
Fear, Hope, Global Warming, and Scary Politics. Katharine Butler Hathaway weighs the reasons for decisions between those based on fear and those that come from creativity. There must be, she says, “a rule something like this that makes jonquils and crocuses come pushing through cold mud.” This is a good creative and practical image for hope. I would […]
Four Healing Questions and other reflections I might need to hear in troubled times. Cross-cultural anthropologist Angeles Arrien says that in many traditional cultures, healers asks their patients four questions about their well-being. Questions like: “When did you stop singing?” “When did you stop telling your story?” Do you have a story that is different from the […]
By the time we get to the age we are, we have had numerous reasons to lose, or re-evaluate, or dismiss hope, and even “fuggedaboutit” … Hope’s not worth it. “Been there, got let down, why return to Hope?” Marc Mullinax returns to address the practice of hope as an essential human and core spiritual practice. Hope is more than […]
Every morning the sun rises. That is what morning is: the return of sun light and energy and life. To say that is more than merely stating the obvious; it’s good UU and Easter theology. Jesus’ resurrection need not be literal to be a message of full life lived beyond fear of death. From the […]