How do we care about one another? As a congregation, it’s one of our central concerns.  We strive to make UUFM a safe haven for ideas, yes, but for people, too.  So we need to take care of one another. On September 22, fourteen of us gathered to talk about caring in our congregation and … Continue reading Jonalu’s Journal October 2018

“When To Call The Minister” is a piece that has circulated among UU’s — and before that Universalists — since 1957.  Originally written by Universalist minister Peter Lee Scott for the Elm City Universalist Church in New Haven, CT, people have copied and recopied it. Because it has value. Today, we might change it to … Continue reading When to Call the Minister

UUFM wants to be your third place. If home is the first place and work (or school for some of us!) is the second place, the third place is another place where you spend time and make connections with people, a place “where everyone knows your name,” as they say in the Cheers theme song.  … Continue reading Jonalu’s Journal September 2018

Why are you a Unitarian Universalist?  (assuming you are!)  Maybe you came for religious education for your children.  Maybe the social activism drew you in.  Maybe you were looking for a community of support after a difficult time in your life. I stumbled onto Unitarian Universalism forty years ago when the  Southern Baptist theology I … Continue reading Jonalu’s Journal August 2018

Perhaps you’ve noticed we’ve tried some different things during Sunday morning services.  We had some testimonials about how and why people are active in the world.  We had a band do special music one week.  We had a flower ceremony where we created a piece of art with our flowers.  We had an activity as … Continue reading Jonalu’s Journal – July 2018

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 they celebrate their pride and build their … Continue reading Beatitudes for Today

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 effort, led by Rev Dr William Barber and Rev Dr … Continue reading Jonalu’s Journal – June 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 our music and with the weaving of words.  More, though, … Continue reading Jonalu’s Journal – May 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 affiliation.  A lot of people find themselves moving from … Continue reading Jonalu’s Journal – April 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 that features self-denial, repentance and introspection? Facebook reports to me … Continue reading Jonalu’s Journal – March 2018