Thursday, 24 July 2014, 03:39 am PDT
Unitarian Universalism: The Institution of Spiritual Freedom
Promoting Spiritual Liberalism
Featured Ministers
Blogging Updates
This is just a quick post to say that I've been writing less for this Rev. Cyn blog in part because I've been writing for other locations. If you want to be reading more from me than you'... [read more]
Rev. Cyn
Water, Water Everywhere and Not a Drop...
My colleague, the Rev. Cynthia Landrum, has written an essay on the water controversy in Detroit. She grew up in the Detroit area and her parents live there, so she is not an outsider. She now serv... [read more]
thelivelytradition
Living With Guns: My Commentary Published in July 13 Sunday Eunice News
As a military chaplain, I prayed over too many people who were murdered by their spouses, lovers, or friends. I know first hand that guns don’t kill people. People kill people. People with guns k... [read more]
Our Inherent Worth
"No intimacy: no revelation. No revelation: no givenness of things." (Henry Bugbee) — On becoming modern "Green Men and Women"?
A modern "Green Man"? On Sunday I didn't have to give an address because a member of the congregation, Julian Holloway, gave a very fine one indeed entitled "Past Arcadia and ... [read more]
Caute
Walking Toward Trouble
Almost four years ago on July 29 2010, I was in Arizona to protest and prevent the implementation of the nation’s harshest anti-immigration law. I was asked to be there by colleague Rev. Su... [read more]
A Unitarian Universalist Minister in Mississippi
See all blogs entries from A Unitarian Universalist Minister in Mississippi
Dear Mother Universalism
Scott Wells, a foremost historian of Universalism (writing exclusively on-line), offers a pointed correction to the simplistic and sentimental treatment of Universalism proffered in too many UU ser... [read more]
PeaceBang
This Week's Prayer
Dear abiding ground of belonging, security, home,On this weekend of celebration and fireworks on behalf of our nation, let us give thanks. We are grateful for our homeland of resources, wealth, opp... [read more]
The Liberal Pulpit
It's like that thing when something does you know
I have a bad case of CRS. It's better than Alzheimers but worse than just being a dingbat. CRS for you youth who don't have to worry yourselves with these sorts of problems is Can't Remember Stu... [read more]
Auspicious Jots
What The World (and the Church) Needs Now...
Sermon, UU Church of Stillwater, OK Sunday June 22, 2014“What The World (and the Church) Needs Now”Rev. Ron Robinson Readings: from Isaiah 58, and from Michael Durrall’s chapter Church as Act... [read more]
Planting God Communities
UU Gotta Tweet at #UUAGA video Crash Course
Friends, I told people using the UUA’s mobile General Assembly event app that I’d make a quick tutorial on how to get started on Twitter. Here it is! In this video I walk you through... [read more]
UU PLANET Ministry and Media
Sermon: "Goodbye from Holmes' Prairie" (Delivered 6-15-14)
Liturgy for Worship Opening Words – Otherwise by Jane Kenyon Prayer – by Martha Munson, adapted Reading – We Give Thanks by Max Coots Hymns #38 “Morning Has Broken”, #15 “The Lone Wild ... [read more]
RevThom
Flowers For our Fathers
FLOWERS FOR OUR FATHERSRev. Kit Ketcham, June 15, 2014 On Fathers’ Day and Mothers’ Day, we honor the parents who ga... [read more]
Ms. Kitty’s Saloon and Road Show
Mrs. McNeil Music of Ithaca’s Top 5 ways to support local music:
5. Get the Door: If a musician walks past you carrying an amp/ drum/ bass-cabinet/harp grab the door for them. That stuff’s heavy, and it’s nice to know you care. 4. Get it Live: Planning a wed... [read more]
Carrots and Ginger
Millennials and Unitarian Universalist Identity: A Reaction to Rev. Dr. Terasa Cooley
I recently attended a barbecue at the home of a retired Unitarian Universalist minister. As he offered a blessing for the meal, the host gave thanks for the eras of ministry represented in the gath... [read more]
Just Wondering
女性に喜んでもらえる告白
女性からすれば、男性から告白をされると嬉しいものです。 自分が気になっている、または好意を持っている男性のほうから告白されたら、最高... [read more]
ministrare
On Behalf of a Grateful Nation — Sermon by Rev. David Pyle
Last preached on May 25th, 2014 As both a Unitarian Universalist Minister, and as a Reserve Military Chaplain, I have conducted over a dozen military funerals and memorial services. They were... [read more]
Celestial Lands
Preparation for Ministry: Spiritual Direction Training compared to Seminary
The best preparation I had for ministry was the three year training program for spiritual directors I completed at Heart-Paths Dallas in 2012. For those who do not know about or who are not famil... [read more]
Sunflower Chalice
My right to privacy, and yours
An college class exercise involving SCOTUS Justice Scalia was an interesting assignment for the students who did it. An interesting by-product is recognizing that Scalia apparently thi... [read more]
MACRO MICRO AND VICE VERSA
What Love Says
Ten years ago, I was ordained into the Unitarian Universalist ministry. In our religious tradition, it is the congregation that calls an individual out of the laity and into the company of the peop... [read more]
Thousand Voices
Lego Movie Theology
Did you notice the religious themes in The Lego Movie? There is nothing very deep, nothing one could call systematic theology. But the movie makers were consciously playing with religious ideas. Ob... [read more]
Rev. Thomas Perchlik
Odds & Ends
Joliet, Ill., to Kearney, Neb.
We started driving at nine in the morning, quickly leaving behind the crowded roads of Chicagoland. Water towers are prominent features of the midwestern landscape, and traditionally the municipali... [read more]
Yet Another Unitarian Universalist
See all blogs entries from Yet Another Unitarian Universalist
Coop’s Youth Part 1 – Puberty Pressure Cooker
Our mom, my brother and I returned from two long full developmental weeks of our vacation on Cape Cod, beginning to find some equilibrium as three still emerging human beings, without a male parent... [read more]
Lefty Parent- Living and Parenting Without The Rule Book
See all blogs entries from Lefty Parent- Living and Parenting Without The Rule Book
Social Media Sabbatical
I’m jumping into my bucket list full force. The first step is shutting down my online presence, at least for a while, and going off-line and off-grid. I let go of Facebook a while back. That ... [read more]
traveling tUUsome
#Bringbackourgirls For Mother's Day
It’s been almost a month since more than 270 young women were kidnapped from their school in Nigeria, and only a week since the world’s news media, the United States, and the Nigerian Presiden... [read more]
Sexuality and Religion: What’s the Connection?
See all blogs entries from Sexuality and Religion: What’s the Connection?
What's Your Real Religion?
Take the Test
UU News
Suit Challenges City's Denial of Equal Public Space To Atheist
The ACLU today announced the filing of a lawsuit against the city of Warren, Michigan on behalf of an atheist who was refused space for a table in the atrium of city hall for a "reason stati... [read more]
Religion Clause
Social Insecurity: An Interview with James W. Russell
In a recent conversation with New Books in Sociology, James W. Russell, author of 'Social Insecurity: 401(k)s and the Retirement Crisis', outlined the inadequacies of the 401(k) system and explai... [read more]
Beacon Broadside
Evolution Camp celebrates science, and other UUs in the media
Evolution Camp offers summer programming unique in area First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church of Springfield, Mo. , sponsored an Evolution Camp organized by religious education director Jennif... [read more]
UU’s In the Media
Preparing for a hike
SPIRIT: Imagine your way through the good route / and also the other route. [read more]
Spirit from UU World
Meet our readers
NEWS: UU World's readership survey also offers an updated profile of the UUA's membership. [read more]
News from UU World
Featured Podcasts
Expanding Our Spiritual Comfort Zone, Mary-Margaret Zindren, July 20, 2014
Unity Church-Unitarian of Saint Paul, MN
See all podcast episodes from Unity Church-Unitarian of Saint Paul, MN
Getting the Clash of Clans Triche
The gamers would have surely heard about the clash of clans. This interesting online game is multi-player in which the players tend to develop their own troops and clans for targeting the other cla... [listen to the episode]
The Pageless Book
Resting in the Neutral Zone: Revs. Heather and Cathy Rion Starr
Jan. 12, 2014 - Between one ending and another beginning lies what William Bridges describes as the “neutral zone. ” Once we have accepted that there has been an ending in our lives, we... [listen to the episode]
DMUUC Message
"Now is the Time: Stewardship Sunday" - April 10, 2011
Come celebrate the gift of our beloved community as we reflect on what this moment in our congregational history calls us to do. We'll also have a child dedication at this service. [listen to the episode]
Bull Run Unitarian Universalists
See all podcast episodes from Bull Run Unitarian Universalists
Featured Blog Posts
So you want a female character to carry a gun? Three Flashbang bra videos.
See the draw in the previous video around 4:20. In the next video, it's around 12:25. And this one's all about the draw: I'm sure bra holsters fall under Rule 34, but you'll have to do... [read more]
it’s all one thing
New Italian Pagan Organization Begins Work For Legal Recognition
On July 11, the Italian organization Unione Comunità Neopagane (UCN) was born after 2 long years of planning. A result of Progetto articolo 8 (Project Article 8), the UCN brings together a div... [read more]
The Wild Hunt
The New Testament and Psalter is in
I wrote about a New Testament with psalter I ordered; it arrived last Wednesday. It could be worse. I can imagine furtive looks about the “faith sharing” helps, and I might agree with y... [read more]
Boy in the Bands
What I learned this week
Here’s what I learned this week as I was walking my feet to nubs back and forth and forth and back: Stark white walls can be a canvas inviting to the artist as they consider layering color ov... [read more]
uuMomma
Is Asking People to Forget that Thomas Jefferson Was a Slaveholder a White Thing?
I had been trying to not sound like an angry black woman and come up with a different title for this post, but I’m tired of trying to not sound like an angry black woman. Doug Muder, in his o... [read more]
east of midnight
Dear Mother Universalism
Scott Wells, a foremost historian of Universalism (writing exclusively on-line), offers a pointed correction to the simplistic and sentimental treatment of Universalism proffered in too many UU ser... [read more]
The manic mind of the minister
Podcast Episode 71: Bosses, Children, Abuse and Holidays
Podcast Episode 71: Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number 71 recorded June 27th, 2014. My name is Brian Schell, and I am your host for the show. You can find the text as well as al... [read more]
Daily Buddhism
WaterFire, and a wedding, cap off Saturday GA celebrations
Tens of thousands of people joined in with Unitarians Universalists at the dramatic Water Fire event on Saturday night in downtown Providence, R. I. , the public witness event at this year’s Gene... [read more]
General Assembly Blog
UU Campfest
This upcoming week, we are participating in our congregation's annual camping trip. This will be our first year. While we do a lot of Scout related camping, we aren't that big of camp... [read more]
Everyday Unitarian
Goin' to the Courthouse...
http://www. wisn. com/news/dozens-of-samesex-couples-tie-the-knot-in-milwaukee/26384252 What a wild ride! On Friday, June 6, 2014, U. S. District Court judge Barbara Crabb issued a ruling ... [read more]
Earthbound Spirit
In the Long Wake
In the Long Wake Preached June 1, 2014 at First Christian Church, Bowling Green The text for this sermon is Acts 1:6-14: So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time wh... [read more]
Elizabeth’s Little Blog
Love Lessons from Lilacs
In eleven days, I’ll vow to my partner to seek love with him wherever life takes us. We’ve spent the last several weeks looking through boxes at his past, a past that includes the chasm... [read more]
Finding My Ground
A Response to "Public Education and Intelligent Design" (Part 1)
On 30 April 2014, Unitarian Universalist minister Rev. Dan Harper mentioned a paper by philosopher Thomas Nagel on his blog -- "A possible case for teaching intelligent design" is the... [read more]
Liberal Faith Development
Acceptance and Action
The text of the talk "Acceptance and Action" that I gave April 6 at the Unitarian Church of Quincy, IL is up on their website. This is a little more personal than most of my talks. It... [read more]
Free and Responsible Search
Is there a torch in the new UUA logo?
Thinking about the UUA's new logo (which was announced last week; I was not involved in developing), I was struck by the torch-like image in its center. I've heard people express dismay that it... [read more]
Philocrites
So the UUA has a new logo?
Again? Yawn. So what else is new? Although a few thoughts do occur to me: (1) It's only a logo. For letterhead and brochures and such. It doesn't mean anything. ... [read more]
the Socinian
Yes, the Wolf has Inherent Worth and Dignity.
My good buddy Christine has a blog up that calls us to the age old question – do even bad, even evil, people still have inherent worth and dignity. Quoting her great piece, The Wolf’s Inherent ... [read more]
Spirituality and Sunflowers
Ready or Not in the Land of the Dying
I was sure he'd have died by now. He was sliding fast last spring. I hoped he'd see his birthday in late June, but was positive he'd be gone by August. Positive. Come his birthday and he ... [read more]
Wandering Monk, Reluctant Gyrovague
See all blog entries from Wandering Monk, Reluctant Gyrovague
Back in the Saddle?
So it goes a little something like this. I put Chutney to bed because I got a job working for my church. And I was afraid I would offend people. And I was afraid Chutney would get me into trouble (... [read more]
Making Chutney
Repost: gulfnews : Kfar Owaid massacre will haunt Syria
Reposted from December 2011gulfnews : Kfar Owaid massacre will haunt Syria An organized slaughter. .. no survivors. وذبح نظمت في كفر عويد، ولا ناجينUpdate: WARNING as it'... [read more]