WOMEN AND POVERTY On or near International Women’s Day each year, we pause to celebrate women, but also to consider how women are faring in contemporary societies.  Even in the U.S., one sixth of the population lives below the poverty line and a disproportionate number are women, often single parents. ...

WHAT DO UU’S BELIEVE? THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES IN HYMNS AND READINGS A music-centered worship service will deepen our understanding and expand our vision of what we believe. The choir will lead the congregation in new and favorite hymns and readings. Music:  The UUFDC choir, Donna Russell, accompanist, Cynthia Stiehl, conductor...

JUSTICE IS THE HUMAN RIGHT TO WATER The Environmental Justice Task Force of UUSC has chosen this theme for Justice Sunday. The human right to water entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible, and affordable water for personal and domestic use. There is a global water crisis which threatens...

FIVE THINGS I’D LIKE TO TELL CHARLES DARWIN The text of The Origin of Species reflects Darwin’s love for exploring the minutest details of the natural world, his meticulousness as a scientist, his personal timidity and reluctant role as a revolutionary, and also his wracking self-doubt and pre-emptive defensiveness against...

THE STORY OF HELOISE AND ABELARD This is one of the great love stories of history, a true story, not a drugstore romance novel. It began in 1116 AD when Peter Abelard at the age of 37 had attained the highest intellectual honors in medieval France. Heloise was 19. The...

WHEN THE CRY FOR JUSTICE IS NOT ENOUGH When people of varying perspectives demand “rights”, what is the catalyst that builds bridges for justice, equity, and compassion in human relations?  Does Rabbi Jesus’ parable of a rich man, whose harvest was too abundant to fit in his barns, provide universal...

THE QUESTION OF AUTHORITY In the middle of an oral examination in seminary the professor asked, “What’s your authority?”  I wanted to say it’s from the gospel according to Phil Sweet but I wanted to pass the exam. I said: “I’ve thought about it. I’ve done a lot of reading....

HAPPY NEW YEAR, MR. PODSNAP If Mr. Podsnap happens to be vacationing in Door County on January 1, I suppose we’ll have to welcome him warmly if he comes to the Fellowship. I don’t think he’d like what we’ll say and do on New Year’s Day, but I think we...

REEL SPIRITUALITY: ENLIGHTENMENT AT THE MOVIES We think we watch movies for simple entertainment but good films, like all good art, reflect us and change us at the same time. Many of the most popular films of our generation carry strong theological and spiritual messages. This is a close look...

A TIME TO LIVE, A TIME TO DIE Whether we like it or not, someday our one precious life will end. What do we need to do ahead of time to make it better for us — and the people who love us — then? Let’s start by thinking about how tenderly...