At the two meetings about our new Adult Growth and Learning Program, I shared a list of characteristics of mature spirituality that were compiled by the Rev. Dr. Kendyl Gibbons, senior minister of All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in Kansas City MO. The short list was drawn from these remarks offered by Rev. Gibbons when … Continue reading Characteristics of Mature Spirituality
Did you know that there’s a Unitarian Universalist congregation that consists entirely of incarcerated people? Could you imagine that there are nearly 2,000 Unitarian Universalists in prisons across the country? If you’re not surprised, then you already know about the prison outreach, Worthy Now, that the Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF) has been … Continue reading Strengthening Each Other
On November 26, I talked about what it means to be part of our community. Just days later, my colleague Kimberly Debus wrote a bit more about it. You can see what she had to say here. I also stumbled on a bit of writing I did some years ago that resonates with that same … Continue reading Doing Church
When I lived in Chicago, I was connected to a community that included folks who were part of an improvisational dance collective. They led contact improv dance sessions and occasionally held performances in an old church that had been minimally maintained over years of closure, but was well suited as run-down performance space. I loved … Continue reading Expecting the Unexpected
I know that many of us are missing the usual array of classes that engage us, allow us to share ideas, spend time together and build community. In our Shared Governance Model, Adult Programming is part of the Growth and Learning Council. Religious Education, AHA, and the Library are also part of this Council. Frank … Continue reading Adult Growth and Learning at QUUF
The state of the world: it might just be grief and fear. A few weeks ago, as a part of the time of Joys and Sorrows, I shared the last stanzas of Warsan Shire’s poem “What They Did Yesterday Afternoon”: later that night i held an atlas in my lap ran my fingers across the … Continue reading How We Find Hope
At the service this past Sunday, we got to hear the words of poet Andrea Gibson: “I know most people try hard to do good and find out too late they should have tried softer.” Since I first heard the poem a few years ago, I have repeated that mantra to myself: try softer. It … Continue reading Keep Trying
Friends, I am looking forward to leading worship with you this coming Sunday, and to the picnic after! I have gotten the sense that this fellowship appreciates a good time, so I hope to see many of you there. Before I offer my reflections for this blog, I want to update you on my husband, … Continue reading An Update and Some Early Thoughts
Someone quipped “The only people who like change are wet babies!” A childless young adult at the time, I didn’t know that not all babies like to have their diapers changed no matter how soggy or stinky they are. And yet, the only thing that we know for certain is that everything changes. Babies become … Continue reading Change is in Our Future
On August 1, I took care in getting ready for my first official day of work at QUUF. I selected a favorite dress, grabbed my lightweight black cardigan (will it be chilly?), and started looking at my earrings for just the right pair. The choice was obvious. Though the small turquoise pieces at the … Continue reading Brave World
