I’ve said more times than I can remember that it’s been a year of trouble and turmoil. Maybe it has something to do with the way social media shapes our lives, the constant blare of the 24 hour news cycle, and the if-it-bleeds-it-leads nature of news reporting. This week or so has seemed especially filled … Continue reading Joy and Woe Are Woven Fine
For nearly three months, I’ve been trying to write something about what’s been happening in the UUA around a new awareness of white supremacy as manifests in our own lives and especially our organizations. If you are unfamiliar with what has been happening, here’s a comprehensive timeline of events and links to social media and … Continue reading Stumbling into the Truth: More Reflections on White Supremacy.
There’s nothing like a fever, cough, sore throat and congestion to force a person to stop for a while. Early this month, I had just such a thing happen to me. On my way home from a meeting and I started coughing. By the next morning, it was evident that I was going to be … Continue reading “I go and lie down . . . “
On Sunday, February 12, those attending the service had the chance to get an offering from the church. There were $20 bills in envelopes taped under the seats in the sanctuary claimed by whoever was sitting nearby. The requirements of receiving the offering were to do something kind with it and to let us know what … Continue reading Reverse Offering Results
It is a time when hyperbole is easy to fall into. Social media seems to be always exploding with the latest outrage or triumph, and it’s hard to not get carried along. But, as I said after the election, the work we are called to do in the world hasn’t changed: we still want answer … Continue reading Hart to Hearts
Just before the solstice rolled around I was talking with some friends. I was feeling exhausted from the long and brutal election. I was jittery because of all the anger that I heard: anger about immigrants, anger about the election results, the resurgence of white supremacists. It didn’t matter what the topic was. Everyone was … Continue reading A Message of Peace
The #31daysofhope blogs end as they began with a wish for the new year from Denise Levertov. Denise Levertov: “For the New Year, 1981” I have a small grain of hope— one small crystal that gleams clear colors out of transparency I need more.I break off a fragment to send you.Please take this grain of … Continue reading Hart to Hearts: Hope for New Year
The words of Ann Tyndall are important as we prepare for a new year: This morning I walked the dog up the street. It was a perfect winter’s morning. An icy breeze was blowing. Clouds were gathered in the sky. As the sun rose the greywhite sky turned to rosy smoke. The sun finally … Continue reading Hart to Hearts: What Gets Us Through
Woody Guthrie was amazing. I was probably in my 30’s before I knew that the songs that I thought were ancient folks songs whose authors were lost to the mists of history were written by Woody. “This Land is Your Land,” I discovered later had subversive verses. My favorite is this one: As I went … Continue reading Hart to Hearts: Hope from the Ancestors III
I’m not one to use what’s considered to be vulgar speech, especially on a blog for my church, but sometimes it is worth doing. This image — source unknown — floated through my social media a year or more ago. It aligns with what I trust to be the truth about how change comes about … Continue reading Hart to Hearts: Hope Arising from Our Vulnerability
