A few commiserations and recommendations now that we’re thinking about being with the children over the holidays. The Reverend Joan Shiels has children. So do most of her friends. And she knows that having children is not all coos and cuddles and sweet things. Not by a long shot.
In the summer of 1955, the year I graduated from high school, there appeared in the New York Times an extraordinary picture on the front page. It was the picture of a man and a woman standing facing each other. The man was Sergeant Matthew Mckeon, a marine Drill Instructor, the woman was Maggie Meeks. […]
Mediation is a term and a process that is increasingly being utilized in a variety of contexts and yet it remains poorly understood by many. What is it? How does it work? Who uses it? When does it make sense to try it? Regardless of your familiarity with the process, this talk is designed to […]
Who are these people? They comprise less than 1% of our population. Their average annual income is less than one-half the poverty level. Male life expectancy is 44 years. Female life expectancy is 47 years. What might they teach us? What might we learn about ourselves if we knew them better? Dick Smythe is an […]
The trickster is a beloved figure of mine, disruptive, breaking the rules, violating the norms, challenging authority, pricking our pomposity. He is mythological in nature, corresponding to inner psychic experience. There is another side to God then the one we were taught, darker, fiercer, not at all related to our human sense of morality. Robinson Jeffers, […]
At the heart of our Unitarian Universalist tradition is the intention to create and sustain caring communities in which participants are supported and encouraged to live lives of principle and service and care for one another. What does this look like? What are the ways UUFDC manifests the promise of community? Karen Gustafson just retired […]
There’s a lot of talk these days about Leadership in the fellowship -–and everywhere in the world as nations, including our own, grapple with the proper way to lead in a postmodern age. Do the leadership principles of the past still work? If new leadership styles are needed then what are they? A reflection on […]
As a voracious reader, I inhale words that tell me about the real and imagined world. Daily I am reminded of what I know and what I don’t know. Recently I learned more about my genomes from the National Geographic project of analyzing my cheek swab, including what percentage I am Neanderthal. Every so often (especially in Durango) I […]
For generations, human beings have pondered, prayed to, and personified stars. If those stars could speak in return, what wisdom might they have for us in return? I suggest that their message might well be welcome to those on both sides of science/spirit divide. Dr. Sharon Whitehill was an English professor in Michigan for over 30 […]
Guilt-induction is a powerful means by which to motivate obedience, conformity, and some forms of morality. It is often used by religious groups, cultural institutions, and parents alike. One downside is that it can also foster feelings of unworthiness and stifle personal growth. Pervasive guilt is implicated in certain forms of mental illness. But guilt […]