Category: minister-note

Note from Pastor Isa

Beatitudes for Today

Rev Jonalu Johnstone offers a summary of Beatitudes for Today, drawn from her reflections on Sunday, June 17:

Blessed are black lives because they matter.
Blessed are indigenous people because their connection to the earth leads us to redemption from our environmental sins.
Blessed are queer people because … read more.

Jonalu’s Journal – June 2018

I have been asked how it felt to participate in the Poor People’s Campaign direct action.  Many of you know that the Poor People’s Campaign is a reawakening of a campaign that Martin Luther King, Jr, was planning at the time of his assassination.  The … read more.

Jonalu’s Journal – May 2018

The image I found for this month’s theme of creativity shows a brick wall with graffiti proclaiming, “Together, We Create!”  This is true in many aspects of our congregational life, perhaps nowhere more than in Sunday morning worship services.  We create on Sunday mornings with … read more.

Jonalu’s Journal – April 2018

What might UUFM emerge into?

The world of religion today is different from the world many of us grew up with.  Church–or any religious institution–feels optional to most people.  More and more people define themselves as “spiritual but not religious,” or as “nones,” having no particular … read more.

Jonalu’s Journal – March 2018

Throughout March, Christians are celebrating Lent, a season that most UU’s are not very clued in to.  We struggle enough with how to celebrate Easter, with its incredible central story of resurrection.  What are we to do with Lent, a time of preparation for Easter … read more.

The Promise and the Practice

On January 28, we participated in “The Promise and the Practice,” a UUA recommended service of reflection and commitment about the black experience of Unitarian Universalism. As part of that service, people wrote their hopes and fears. Reading them inspired me and I thought might … read more.

Jonalu’s Journal – February 2018

No one doubts that the religious scene is changing faster in this country than anyone can keep track of.  First, the mainline churches hit decline, and now, even evangelical churches are fighting to maintain their numbers.  Church is no longer central to people’s lives.  While … read more.

Jonalu’s Journal – January 2018

By now, you have probably heard some of the feedback from the Developmental Ministry evaluation, in preparation for the congregational vote on January 7 about continuation of Developmental Ministry. The most heartening tidbit from the evaluation for me was the extent to which people are … read more.

A Holiday Message

Robert Fulghum, a UU minister best-known for “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten,” speaks about that “funny feeling you get when you know that once again Christmas has come to you.” It comes in different ways. One year, I got it … read more.

Jonalu’s Journal – December 2017

We’re in the midst of what has come to be known as “the holiday season,” sometime between Thanksgiving and New Years.  Perhaps no time of year brings higher expectations and anxiety. Some of the expectations come from outside ourselves–the in-laws who want to include you … read more.