For a few summers, I went away to a summer camp for girls in the mountains in western Virginia.  We all ate together in the big dining room. In the minutes before the doors opened all the girls would gather on the porch ready to run to find seats with our friends. One of the … Continue reading Announcements

How We Move Forward In Wild Times and a few notes at the end…. These days I’m listening to inspirational music. As I begin writing this, I’m listening to Emma’s Revolution’s sing “Keep On Moving Forward”. I don’t know about you, but my anxiety is with me a lot of the time. I can’t seem … Continue reading Moving Forward

‘There go my people. I must find out where they are going so I can lead them!’  ~ Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin Anyone who’s been around the last few years knows that I’m happy that the Finding Our Future workshop is happening next weekend. Early in my tenure, I encouraged our leadership to engage in creating … Continue reading To Infinity and Beyond

Dear Friends, Another year begins and it’s filled with peril and promise as ever and always it is. I send you these words written by my colleague Rev. Ann Tyndall that are part of coming into the new year. This morning I walked the dog up the street.  It was a perfect winter’s morning. An … Continue reading For the New Year

There are times when good news can be hard to come by, and even when it’s not, I’m glad to spread it around. There’ve been a couple of bits of good news that I’ve seen lately that I want to direct you toward. Both are about our wider religious movement and looking toward the future. … Continue reading Looking for Good News

I write this on the day of the only scheduled Presidential Debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. It is five weeks until ballots in Washington state will be mailed to all voters. I don’t know how you’re feeling about the election, but I’m counting the days until it’s over. I … Continue reading The Heart of Democracy

The approach of fall always feels like a new year. School starts up again, the lazy – or busy – days of summer begin to fade, the sun sets before 8:00. We talk about the second Sunday in September as “opening” Sunday even though we have services all through the summer. Over the last year, … Continue reading Change Happens

For several years when I served the Tahoma UU Congregation, we practiced thematic ministry. It’s a common practice among congregations of all sorts where the worship, small groups, and children and youth programing share a common monthly focus. Many UU congregations use Soul Matters, a thematic ministry subscription service that provides packets of materials that … Continue reading Soul Matters

Ken Burns, the historian and filmmaker, gave the commencement address for Brandeis University this spring. It is a remarkable address and offers warnings to us about our increasingly divided country and world. I was especially struck when he quoted I.F. Stone who suggested that “history is tragedy, not melodrama.” Burns then elaborates: “In melodrama all … Continue reading Kindness

  In March, the Adult Growth and Learning task force began to meet to plan how to move forward with what was next.  Having launched an interim semester of classes in January, it was time to get to work. Paul Loubere brought the team together: Dean Carr, Mary Tucker, Kathryn Wadsworth, David Deardorf, Henry Amick, … Continue reading ALSO