by Laura Secor Breathe deeply, and imagine you are floating in a crimson sea, buoyant, warm and bright. Breathe in rose madder, flood yourself with quinacridone red, a merlot woman in a burgundy sea, sinking gently, breathing in the cinnamon water as though it were crisp clear air, tasty with persimmon wine, sighing tomato sighs as … Continue reading Rainbow Meditation
by Robin Mitzcavitch, Director of Religious Exploration I have mixed feelings regarding the titles of those popular books which claim to impart knowledge “for dummies.” However, I’ve read more than one. The most recent was “Mythology for Dummies.” Perhaps if I had a choice in what to title this book, it would be more like … Continue reading A Living Tradition for the Curious
by Rev. Aaron Payson This month’s Soul Matters Theme is “pluralism”. And interestingly enough the packet that comes with this month’s theme includes a short reflection that I published a number of years ago as I explored pluralism during one of the courses I took at Hartford Seminary. At this moment in our Association’s history, … Continue reading On Pluralism and Plurality
by Moira Rouse & David Schowalter, UUCW Stewardship Team As of this writing, we have raised $206,241 in combined pledges and Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD) for the 2024-25 church year. This represents 91.3% of our goal of $226,000. Many of you increased your pledge amount over last year and several new households pledged for the … Continue reading It’s (been) a Wonderful Pledge Drive
by Laura K. Secor Rumi is so often bubbling with delight, so often filled with the glory of Spirit, positively vibrating and swirling with the exuberance of his earthy ecstasy. But even he occasionally finds a cloud crossing his sun. This poem is titled “Love Moves Away” and goes like this: Pale sunlight,pale the wall. Love moves … Continue reading Rumi in a Rare Blue Mood
by Robin Mitzcavitch, Director of Religious Exploration This past Sunday was William Ellery Channing’s birthday, and it was also our Coming of Age class’s traditional pilgrimage to Boston for their self-led UU Boston History Tour. Who is William Ellergy Channing and why do we care? He was born April 7, 1780, Newport, Rhode Island —died … Continue reading Coming of Age and Channing
by Rev. Aaron Payson This month’s Soul Matter’s Theme is “Interdependence.” There has been a lot of talk, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic about the fate of religious communities in our country. We’ve seen many religious communities close in the past few years and others are struggling to find professional religious leadership. For me, the clearest … Continue reading On Interdependence
by David Schowalter & Moira Rouse, Stewardship Team Excerpt from “It’s a Wonderful Life,” when George meets Clarence, the angel: As of this writing, our Wonderful Church has raised $160,544, or 71% of our goal of $226,000 for this year’s pledge drive towards next year’s church budget. We are just beginning to contact those of … Continue reading Stewardship Update: “It comes in real handy down here.”
by Laura K. Secor Even people who possess only a passing acquaintance with Buddhism have generally heard of the “Eightfold Path”. In case that’s as far as your acquaintance takes you, this is where the Buddha laid out a step-by-step method of evolving beyond suffering. These eight practices can be grouped into three types – … Continue reading The Patchword Buddhist
by Robin Mitzcavitch, Director of Religious Exploration & Education Have you ever come across a quote, a story, or a poem that really makes you pay attention? Maybe this piece of writing transforms you with its words, lingering and growing in size and meaning. I’ll come across something and think: “I need to keep this … Continue reading Words That Transform
