The First American Indian to Serve as US Poet Laureate: Joy Harjo Come joins us to celebrate International Women’s Day by exploring the journey of Joy Harjo, a Muscogee/Creek woman whose paternal ancestors fought the U.S. for their land in “Indian Territory.” She is an artist and musician (sax) in addition to being a writer of […]
Life, I find, is much like my orchids: I was given them as gifts, and they bloom despite (in spite of?) my cat. I’ve tended my various plants; watering, feeding, shifting them around to the ‘best’ spots … and they bloom … most of them anyway. It’s a complicated affair, this life, this ‘gift’ we are […]
Thanks to researchers such as Dr. Suzanne Simard and Dr. Steve Sillett, we are beginning to perceive a whole new world, allowing us a glimpse into the depth and complexities of these ancient communities we call forests. In high school, I was involved in a summer conservation program of work and learning. We touched on […]
Valentine’s Day pays homage to romance and is revered by couples, a cash cow for restaurants and florists and universally hated by those without a partner. It’s patron Saint Valentine knew nothing of romance, hearts and flowers. The word Love has become synonymous with romance, feelings, emotion. But Love is more robust, more demanding, more […]
Are anxiety and creativity inextricably bound to one another? Are those of us who tend toward creativity also more likely to tend toward worry? What role does work play in our search for peace and productivity (and what constitutes “work” anyway?). We’ll explore the braided themes of work, creativity, and anxiety—the places they intersect and […]
This is the story of how a horrific life threatening illness was beaten by a chain of events and decisions made years prior to the terrible event. Andy will also delve into how UU “found” him during his recovery and what it means to him. Andy had just started a new chapter in his life, […]
The concept of race is a social construct created to maintain a certain social order, one of white supremacy. This social construction spawned a myth about the relative abilities, characteristics, and value of human beings based on skin color. Despite this obvious fallacy, most people assume race is biological and immutable. Given the soul crushing, […]
Have you ever sat on a train in a train station and suddenly had the feeling that your train was moving, only to discover it was the train next to you that was moving? This temporary sensation stems from motion occurring without a fixed reference point. On this day of celebration of the birth of […]
A year ago, Alan explored religion words that made some people uncomfortable. Many have since requested further exploration of more words, so here we are. Alan will explore the disconnects between how some people use these words and how some people hear these words (and in some cases the origins of these words). Before our […]
Tracey Robertson is the nationally-recognized Cofounder and Executive Director of Fit Oshkosh, Inc., a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote social transformation through Color-Brave conversations, education, advocacy, and research in order to achieve race equity and justice within our community. Her service in faith communities includes assisting with two start-up churches, singing on praise […]