Note from Pastor Isa
Cut loose, without devotion, a man becomes a comic. His antics are passed around the family table and mimicked so well, years later the family still laughs. Without devotion, any life becomes a stranger’s story … Marie Howe, in her poem Without Devotion, explores the emptiness that results from having nothing to believe in; lacking … Continue reading Pluralism
Grateful for the pluralism which enriches and ennobles our faith, we are inspired to deepen our understanding and our vision. This sentence found at the beginning of our hymnal, Singing the Living Tradition begins the last paragraph of the covenant Unitarian Universalists agree to promote. I love the linkage between deepening one’s understanding and the … Continue reading Pluralism
Reverend Michael Nelson reflects, “Earnestness, this seriousness about everything in our lives … this goal oriented, we’re going to-do-it-attitude, is the world’s greatest killjoy. There’s no sense of appreciation because we are so solemn about everything … A joyful mind is very open and relaxed. So lighten up.” These are a few words from our … Continue reading Comfort with Uncertainty
Vacation and study leave give me the freedom to hurry less. I can read a book of poetry a couple of times, allowing the rhythm of the words to fully enter so that the images and their meaning have stunning power. “The Kingdom of Ordinary Time” by Marie Howe, continues to grip me. As the … Continue reading HURRY….
The bones of this redwood reveal themselves slowly. When this giantess fell, she was well over 1,000 years old, probably around 1,400. Who knows how long she has lain on her side, how many fires reduced limbs to ash, how many square feet of its humus cushions the ground, has become ground??? Good questions to muse … Continue reading Majesty, Humility and the Election Season
Love calls us into the core of our creativity—into its depth and illumination. Like the stars in the vast distance, love brings its light into the interior of our lives. It challenges our imagination to sense the cosmic dimension in a speck of its reflected luminosity and share it with all the beauty and brio … Continue reading AT THE HEART OF IT
Has the Mew Year opened its window for you? Have you opened it? Have you spent time with a big tree? Have these first 30 days allowed for moments when everything in you focuses and you fathom the tick-tock of the eternal? If you have not taken time from daily tasks, business, toil and duty, to allow the … Continue reading OPEN WINDOW
FOSTER GENUINE DIALOGUE “Dialogue aims not to convert others or to reach agreement on the issues, but rather to promote mutual understanding and build relationships that can prevent escalation into violence. They provide a safe atmosphere in which people can talk openly and deeply about their differences, and perhaps discover their underlying commonalties. Dialogue is … Continue reading IT TAKES COURAGE TO FACE THE PAIN OF HUMAN DIFFERENCES
Fellowship members Melissa and David McKee share some thoughts on things that have worked in various UU congregations they have been a part of around the country. Highlights of their commentary were printed in the February 2012 edition of The UUFM Voice. Melissa and David’s full text appears here: We aren’t quite lifetime UU’s, but … Continue reading Things UU Churches Do Right, January 19, 2012
Ida B. Wells, 1862-1931, an African-American journalist, brought intense focus on the history of gender, race and class discord in the United States. She devoted much of her life to the empowerment of women and racial justice issues. She met defeat with the kind of resolve that is hard to imagine. She never lost faith in this countrie’s potential … Continue reading Doing More Good Work…
