Quest Blog
Justice, Elections, and Whiteness
2014-11-06 Brits By the Boatload When that boatload of Brits showed up in Massachusetts, they quite literally considered themselves god’s gift to the continent. Subsequently, they decided which religions were acceptable; which ethnicities and countries of origin were acceptable; who could vote; who would be enslaved; who lived and who died. This norm has functioned…
Read MoreThe Losing Team
2014-11-06 Another election has come and gone. Some people, presumably, are delighted, while others are filled with gloom. OK, it was mostly gloom on my Facebook page. Maybe you worked really hard on behalf of a candidate you truly believed in, and that candidate didn’t win. Maybe the one who did win is the worst…
Read MoreMinistry Mantras
2014-12-23 Ministry can be spiritually, emotionally, and even physically taxing. So, how do clergy keep at it for so long? What helps them stay fresh, alert, and focused on mission? Recently, I asked a Facebook group of Unitarian Universalist ministers to share their “ministry mantras,” using no more than 8 words. A ministry mantra might…
Read MoreWhere Is the I in Me? Emotions, Self and Soul
2014-10-16 A child falls down and begins screaming. It’s common. You did it as a child. I did it. What happens next? For me, my parents said, “Get up off the floor! Boys don’t cry!” When this happens at an upscale pre-school nearby, I’m more likely to hear, “You feel sad!” Or, “That’s frustrating, isn’t…
Read MoreThe Neighbors are Zombies Living in Maslow’s Basement!
2014-10-23 Imagine the laid-back life of a zombie. First of all, you’re dead. So. No more taxes! That’s for sure. And monthly bills will bother you no more. Besides no more worries about death and taxes, look at how focused you are: your meaning and purpose have boiled down to searching for brains to eat.…
Read MoreBlessings from Heaven
2014-09-09 This past weekend I had the chance to do one of my favorite things. Presiding over friends’ weddings is a great perk of the ministry gig. This was a beautiful wedding, joining two families from very different backgrounds. Guests came from Milwaukee and Mumbai, wore brightly colored saris and sundresses, suits and cortas,On the…
Read MorePlenty and Then Some
2014-10-27 This blog post, and the excerpts of a sermon on which this blog post is based, are both inspired by [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Jy5R-3sDA4[/youtube] a song, “Help Somebody,” by Susan Werner. “I got plenty and then some….what do I do?” I can not get this song out of my head, once it’s in there…and because of this…
Read MoreThe Courage for Compassion
2014-09-09 Even After All this time The sun never says to the earth, “You owe Me.” Look What happens With a love like that, It lights the Whole Sky. ~Hafiz, 14th century Sufi poet “It may be that we have lost sight of our mission. Primarily, the church is not for social or political pronouncements,…
Read MoreConscience and Choosing the Hill to Die On
2014-10-30 As of this writing, Maine nurse Kaci Hickox is under house arrest for her resistance to what she considers a fear-based, anti-scientific, and politically-motivated quarantine. In 2012, the US military experienced a odd occurrence: for the first time in US history during time of war, more active duty troops died as a result of…
Read MoreIt’s always 9/11 Now: Porous, Buffered, and the Search for Authentic
2014-09-11 Authenticity or Bust From the First Great Awakening of the 1740s that energized the North American colonists and eventually led to the American Revolution to the Transcendentalists to the Beats, Hippies, and What-Have-Yous, a frequent cry of Americans has been “authenticity.” Americans want it to be real; genuine; visceral; heartfelt; roughhewn . . .…
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