On June 19th,1865, word finally reached Galveston, Texas that President Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation that freed all the enslaved people in the US. News of their freedom was intentionally hidden from the enslaved people for over 2 years. This year is the second year that Juneteenth is a federal holiday. We’ll celebrate by … Continue reading Juneteenth
The phrase Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler can be anything from a seasonal mentality to a way of life in the Big Easy. When a friend mentioned that the University Medical Center of New Orleans had a mid-year opening for their chaplain residency, I jumped at the opportunity. But as a safety net hospital with … Continue reading Rolling With More Than Just the Good Times
It’s our annual Flower Service this Sunday. Originally created by Czechoslovakian Unitarian minister Norbert Čapek, attendees are encouraged to bring along a flower to the service. We gather them and celebrate the beauty and diversity of the flowers and the congregation. Bring whatever is growing near you, bring flowers from the grocery store, even cuttings … Continue reading Flower Service
We return to a wisdom story about what a perfect heart is, and celebrate our perfect hearts. This Sunday we will have a multi-platform service. A limited number of people can register to attend in person, OR folks can still attend via our online Zoom option. Those attending in-person will follow our in-person gathering guidelines … Continue reading A Perfect Heart
Attacks on abortion, attacks on trans kids and their parents, and more are looming. What does it mean to have bodily autonomy? We’ll explore the political landscape that’s emerging and what our response can be. This Sunday we will have a multi-platform service. A limited number of people can register to attend in person, OR … Continue reading Our Bodies, Our Selves
The housing crisis in Tacoma is not going away anytime soon. Learn how we can best support our unhoused neighbors by hearing directly from folks who have experienced the homelessness crisis first-hand. Join us in conversation with our guest speaker, Jay Worley, from the Lived Experience Coalition. The LEC is a community organization of unhoused … Continue reading Voices from the Street
How do we let go of the things which are dragging us down and make room more beauty in our lives? Is it as simple as swapping old for new, and are there some principles which might help us? Drawing inspiration from a 1980s UK Saturday morning kids TV show, Rev. Ant will talk about … Continue reading Beauty for Ashes
Dr. Kate Bowler has wandered through some of the most difficult life events imaginable. After several years of trying to have a baby, she succeeds, and then is diagnosed with stage IV cancer. In September of that year she was told that she’d be dead by the next June. Now more than a decade later … Continue reading A Quarter Turn from God
The Unitarian Universalist Association has as a part of its bylaws a section called “Principles and Purposes.” The current statement was created in 1982-1983, and we’re in the midst of a process to re-imagine what belongs in that section. We’ll look at the history of belief and statements of faith in our history and what … Continue reading Principles, Purposes, and Possibilities
As UU’s, we draw from many sources to help us make meaning of the realities we face in the present day. As we collectively emerge from the trials of a global pandemic, are there any lessons from the Christian story of Jesus’s resurrection that might help to inform our re-emergence back into the world? Rev. … Continue reading Readying to Rise
