Be Still
2014-11-03 My daughter is learning to nap. Again. Not on a shoulder or on a lap. But in her crib, with a stuffed wolf and a pacifier. To fall asleep on her own; To quiet her mind and her body and her mouth — practicing, practicing, ready to talk; To turn away for a few…
Read MoreWho does your heart break for?
2013-10-12 Last month I had the joy of participating in the first Life on Fire un-conference (https://www.facebook.com/LifeOnFireTribe). I was drawn to the gathering by the questions being asked, as well as by the beloveds who were convening us. • Do you want to transform the world into the beloved community? • Do you want to…
Read MorePlaying Together
2013-11-20 I went to a great concert last night, and it’s made me think about why it is that I like hanging out with musicians. Now, I don’t know any rock stars, but because I’m an avid contra dancer, I get the opportunity to spend time around people who are the rock stars of our…
Read MoreIn the Need of Prayer
2013-11-25 In the past few days, I have asked friends and colleagues to pray for a young man they have never met. One of my dearest friends (we will call him S.) is currently on life support in California after a horrible accident. His wife sits by his side as family and friends from all…
Read MoreImages, Imagination, and Iconoclasts
2013-12-05 In 1642, during the British Civil War, Protestant troops of Cromwell’s New Model Army celebrated taking the city by looting the cathedral at Winchester. Troops used the stained glass windows for target practice and showed their disdain for monarchy and Catholic saints by smashing open crypts and pitching the bones through the stained glass…
Read MoreThe Real War on Christmas
2013-12-11 I confess it all seems a bit silly to me, this whole notion of there being a “war on Christmas” because some institutions are wishing people “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas.” Does it really matter? OK, I admit that I, personally, am annoyed with the signs that declare that Jesus is the Reason…
Read MoreIs This Christmas, Mama?
2013-12-24 Every time we say “Christmas,” our little one points at the Christmas tree. The period between Thanksgiving and Christmas being short this year, and our own lives being fairly scheduled, we went and got our Christmas tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Though it seemed a little early at the time, we (okay, I) also…
Read MoreJoy to the World!
2013-12-24 As the Community Minister for the Greater New Orleans Unitarian Universalists, I spend a lot of my time immersed in the injustice of layers of oppression. New Orleanians still trying to get back into their homes over 8 years after they were flooded out, transgender women forced to be housed with and often abused…
Read MoreBeing Responsible- A Story of Two Men
2013-12-27 The daily paper on Christmas Eve carried this story: “Richard F. Morrow, 69, died when he was struck by a car in the village of Canton at 10:49 p.m. Mr. Morrow was pronounced dead at the scene. … Daniel W. Lester, 28, was driving northbound when he allegedly struck Mr. Morrow and fled, according…
Read MoreSometimes It Takes A Lie
2014-01-02 Sometimes it takes a lie to keep a religion. “It’s merely a game,” they told the priests–“how we fast for days, then cut a tall pole to climb. How we costume and dance. It means nothing, how we chant in circles and bleed chickens. How we climb and fly round and around in air.…
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