Improv performances are based on a simple formula of saying “yes” to whatever is given — a word, a scenario, an action — and adding to it, to create a rich story of shared authorship. Far from the panacea of positive thinking, this challenging practice can be useful when living through significant change, especially in […]

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Back to our Future

Can we possibly glimpse a desired future by recalling the past? Has the environmental movement in the United States failed?  A noted authority thinks so. Do we understand that “Nature is no conservationist?” What legacy might we wish to leave for our descendants? Dick Smythe is an entomologist retired from the research division of the […]

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Is UU The True American Religion?

With an emphasis on reason, personal responsibility, equality, democracy and autonomy, Unitarian Universalism might be the religion that is closest to the American ideal. A meditation on faith in America. The Rev. Joan Shiels has graduate degrees in Religion, Theology and Divinity. She is also deeply interested in the American experiment and the spiritual context […]

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Robert Green Ingersoll, although little remembered today, was the foremost orator and political speech-maker of late 19th century America.  He was a controversial figure, but very prominent and highly regarded, even amongst those who disagreed with him.  He crisscrossed the country and spoke before packed houses on topics ranging from Shakespeare to Thomas Paine, from […]

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Was Jesus A Unitarian?

The Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor wrote that “our past is sedimented in our present, and we are doomed to misidentify ourselves, as long as we can’t do justice to where we come from.” In that light, there is no escaping our UU past: we came out of liberal Christianity. So figuring out where we stand […]

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How to be Happy (Part II)

A Chinese proverb says “You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair.” This is Part Two of a message about what the world’s wisdom traditions say about how to be happy. Joan Shiels is a long-time friend, and frequent speaker […]

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How to be Happy (Part I)

The goal of philosophical inquiry is to find Truth. The goal of spiritual inquiry is to find Peace. A peaceful heart makes for a happy person. A short, and quirky, look at what the great wisdom traditions tell us is required to be happy. (Part II follows next Sunday.) Joan Shiels is a long-time friend, […]

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“I look at this life as a puzzle without all the pieces in the box.” — Jonathan Anthony Burkett Thirteen UUFDC Members and Friends in their 60s, 70s, and 80s recently gathered to discuss how our lives were shaped by the Women’s Liberation movement of the 1970s.  We talked and listened and pondered how our individual lives unfolded amidst a cultural shift […]

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