Displaying 151 - 200 of 340
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A covenant is not a definition of a relationship; it is the framework for our relating. A covenant leaves room for chance and change, it is humble toward evolution. It claims: I will abide with you in this common endeavor, be present as best as I can in our becoming....Reading | By Lisa Ward | October 15, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Covenant, Direct Experience, Humanism, Identity, Integrity, Interdependence, Living Our Faith, Purpose, Relationships, Unitarian Universalism -
Most of us Unitarian Universalists are here because we felt welcome here — at last. Some of us were too agnostic somewhere else. Some of us weren’t vindictive enough somewhere else. We were too working-class somewhere else. We were too lesbian somewhere else. We were too nerdy somewhere else,...Reading | By Kenny Wiley | September 1, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, Activism, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Identity, Inclusion, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Unitarian Universalism
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Hay tantísimas fronteras que dividen a la gente, pero por cada frontera existe también un puente. There are so many borders that divide people, but for every border there is also a bridge. Adapted from "Copla #1," Puentes y fronteras/Bridges and Borders, translated by Katherine Callen King.Reading | By Gina Valdés | August 26, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Community, Connections, Culture, Direct Experience, International, Multiculturalism, Relationships, Secular -
I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, To steal a view of the glorious...Reading | By Nelson Mandela | August 19, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Freedom, Humanism, Justice, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Purpose, Relationships, Responsibility, Service -
Community is the spirit, the guiding light of the tribe, whereby people come together to fulfill a specific purpose, to help others fulfill their purpose, and to take care of one another. from The Spirit of Intimacy: Ancient Teachings in the Ways of Relationships...Reading | By Sobonfu Somé | August 19, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Caring, Community, Connections, Direct Experience, Humanism, Purpose, Relationships, Service
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“Look, look!” The strangers around me were shouting and pointing. I spun around. From my position halfway across the Brooklyn Bridge, I could see a large circle of light on the Verizon building, prominent in the New York City skyline. Inside the circle were three symbols that would have meant...Reading | By Annie Gonzalez Milliken | June 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Activism, Change, Courage, Economy, Hope, Joy, Justice, Love, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism, Unity -
Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime; Therefore, we are saved by hope. Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; Therefore, we are saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; Therefore, we are saved by...Reading | By Reinhold Neibuhr | June 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Ethics, Faith, Forgiveness, History, Hope, Limitations, Living Our Faith, Love, Salvation, Work
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They will march, walk, wheel, dance, shimmy and shake Block upon block of undulating color, flesh, banners, signs, clothing or lack thereof Hands raised, hands linked, apart, together Singing, shouting, chanting, silent, Joyous, tearful, nervous, afraid, proud, defiant, angry, happy, delirious,...Reading | By Lois Van Leer | June 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Inclusion, Joy, Justice, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Pride Sunday, Sexuality, Transgender Day of Remembrance -
The first time I ever played “Taps” was at summer camp when I was ten years old. That was the year I started playing trumpet, so I can only imagine how it sounded. I know there was no way that I could have hit the high note near the end. The first time I played Taps in honor of those who died...Reading | By Paul S Sawyer | May 11, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), America, Death, Direct Experience, Grief, History, Memorial Day, Military, Military Service, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Secular, Veterans Day, War -
We who are Unitarian Universalist not only affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person; we also affirm the inherent wholeness of every being -- despite apparent brokenness. No one reading these words is a stranger to pain, or the knowledge that things break, or break down: promises,...Reading | By Erika Hewitt | April 30, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Body, Brokenness, Direct Experience, Healing, Hope, Humanism, Wholeness, Worth -
At age twenty, I had the fortune of traveling the world. Through a study abroad program, I journeyed to awe-inspiring destinations like India, Cuba, and South Africa. In the process, I witnessed extreme poverty, global wealth, power disparity, and the effects of war and militarism—all while...Reading | By Betty Jeanne Rueters-Ward | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: America, Change, Direct Experience, Globalism, Living Our Faith, Personal Stories, Privilege, Transformation, Young Adults
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The first time my heart felt broken, I went to church. When my mom died, I went to church. When I failed a class, I went to church. When I failed a friend, I went to church. When I felt like I’d failed at life, I went to church. I didn’t go asking for forgiveness. I didn’t go asking for...Reading | By Kenny Wiley | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Death, God, Individualism, Mothers, Personal Stories, Relationships
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The delicate, flapping wings of a butterfly have the power to set molecules of air in motion, in turn moving more molecules of air—a tiny act that is eventually capable of affecting weather patterns on the other side of the planet. This notion comes from a concept within Chaos Theory called the...Reading | By Dana Capasso | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Awe, Connections, Direct Experience, Interdependence
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“The beauty of the world is the mouth of a labyrinth,” writes Simone Weil. We would be foolish not to follow its call. And so we enter the labyrinth, lured by the whiff of a dream still in the making: the possibility of a new relationship, the promise of a new career, the potential for a new...Reading | By Erik W. Martínez Resly | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Challenge, Change, Failure, Faith, Journey, Living Our Faith
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Today we light our candle of remembrance. On April 19, 1943 the Jewish community in the Warsaw ghetto rose up against their captors in a valiant effort to regain their freedom and return a common humanity to those intent on destroying their very existence....Reading | By Karen Mooney | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Anti-Oppression, Brokenness, Direct Experience, History, Holocaust Remembrance / Yom Ha'Shoah, Human Rights, Humanism, Identity, Judaism, Prayer Practices, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Solidarity -
I somehow lost my chalice necklace on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston the same day I lost my marriage and my religion. I must have dropped it while I was walking down the street. It was a bad day. Let me back up. I grew up Unitarian Universalist. I had a chalice necklace for a long time that I only...Reading | By Robin Bartlett | April 26, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Identity, Meaning, Searching
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Identity is one of those concepts I have tried desperately to push to the sidelines for most of mi vida. It was always too complicated, too painful, or too divisive....Reading | By Saul Ulloa | April 26, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, Identity, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity
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I realized I was a woman, or more precisely at the time, a girl, the day in first grade I noticed boys were looking up my dress when I was on the monkey bars. I started wearing shorts under my dresses. I now prefer pants. I realized I liked other women when I was nineteen and noticed I was...Reading | By Kayla Parker | April 26, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Identity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Living Our Faith, Self-Respect, Young Adults
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By the time I was in my late twenties, I was convinced that I would never find love. I had had a few boyfriends, but over and over again, I was exiled to the dreaded Friend Zone. I always suspected that it was because I was “too much”: too smart, too feminist, too radical, too fat, too...Reading | By Ashley Horan | April 26, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Direct Experience, Gender, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Living Our Faith, Love, Relationships, Young Adults
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There was a period in my life when, within three months, all my major relationships changed. The most joyous of these was getting married; Sarah and I had dated for three and a half years, and I proposed to her at our holiday party....Reading | By Carey McDonald | April 26, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Change, Direct Experience, Letting Go, Marriage, Transformation, Young Adults
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The history and legacy of Unitarian Universalism are shaped as much by Emerson, Fahs, and Channing as it is by the ancestors in our congregations. We come to it through different avenues: the Internet, an invitation, reading the Transcendentalists, or as babies or little kids. I came as a fourth...Reading | By Elandria Williams | April 26, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Community, Direct Experience, Faith, Identity, Living Our Faith, Love, Violence, Wholeness
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A few years ago, my little sister moved in with me from our native Los Angeles to the coast of Maine. The move brought a lot of firsts for her: snow, the Atlantic Ocean, and seeing me as an older brother instead of an older sister....Reading | By Andrew Coate | April 26, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Choice, Direct Experience, Family, History, Identity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Young Adults
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Unitarian Universalists are mosaic makers.Reading | By Marcus Liefert | April 23, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Community, Connections, Direct Experience, Friendship, Identity, Relationships, Unitarian Universalism -
The Resurrection is to me the most difficult story in the Bible. John 20:31: Jesus said unto Thomas, "Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed. Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." To elaborate on this, I look at three characters in the story. Mary Magdalene, a woman...Reading | By Ricardo Williams | April 13, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Commitment, Doubt, Easter, Faith, Presence
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We do not know the woman’s name. Jesus tells those with him not to scold her for anointing his head: “Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me. For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not...Reading | By Paul R Beedle | April 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Connections, Easter, Faith, Relationships, Unity
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In all sacred literature, the hearts of the storytellers are revealed in the stories, their breath is felt in the words on the page, and we may be touched or moved or stirred by their ancient art. And maybe we can glimpse a truth that they saw, if we read closely and reflect on what we have read.Reading | By Paul R Beedle | April 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Christianity, Contemplation, Easter, Mystery
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I got off work at 7 pm and did the thing where you chase the bus a little bit but then realize you won’t make it and walk sheepishly back to the bus stop. I’m already an hour late to Sunday night singing at the Lucy Stone Cooperative, a UU affordable housing co-op in Boston. I’m still...Reading | By Elizabeth Nguyen | March 23, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Commitment, Community, Conflict, Direct Experience, Relationships, Unitarian Universalism, Vulnerability
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I’ve always had a tough time falling asleep. As a child, I was skeptical about the whole idea of sleep. I thought, “Who needs it anyway? Can’t we just be awake all the time? Isn’t that what life is all about?” So it is not surprising that, when my now mother-in-law asked me a few years ago...Reading | By Nic Cable | March 23, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Choice, Direct Experience, Growth, Identity, Unitarian Universalism, Vision, Youth/Teens
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“So...what do you want to do with your life???” There was a time when this question haunted me like an existential crisis. Some might call it being in my twenties, but I certainly didn’t feel that such pain was just “to be expected.” I remember pouring over inspirational books. I found few...Reading | By David Ruffin | March 23, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Challenge, Character, Direct Experience, Identity, Purpose, Searching, Unitarian Universalism, Youth/Teens
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During the hot Nebraska summers of my childhood, I spent hours, high in my treehouse, devouring the books I found in the small collection my parents had acquired from the estates of various relatives. One of my favorites was A Wonder Book, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s retelling of classical myths. My...Reading | By Barbara Rohde | March 17, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Commitment, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Interdependence, Nature, Responsibility, Unitarian Universalism, Climate Justice
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Nature provides ready metaphors for peace and justice. Jesus' peaceful kingdom is described as a mustard seed that grows into a large bush, providing shelter to all. the Hebrew prophet Amos cried for justice to roll down like water, and we sing, "I've got peace like a river" and "strength like a...Reading | By Stephen M. Shick | March 17, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Justice, Nature, Peace, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Vision, Climate Justice
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This short, personal essay from Raziq Brown speaks to failure, loss and personal growth.Reading | By Raziq Brown | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Aging, Direct Experience, Failure, Generations, Men, Unitarian Universalism, Youth/Teens
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My high school years were speckled with trust walks. In my Unitarian Universalist youth group at the First UU Congregation of Ann Arbor, each year, the incoming freshmen were given blindfolds and a partner. They were led out into the dark, with only hands on their shoulders to guide them. When...Reading | By Rianna Johnson-Levy | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Autumnal Equinox, Beauty, Change, Death, Direct Experience, Growth, Letting Go, Trust, Unitarian Universalism, Youth/Teens
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The question is not, “What happens when we die?” Nobody really knows. The real question is, “What happens when we stop living?” The stoicism we face on a daily basis is a symptom of a larger illness called a dually-dulled life. Our lives can be hypnotized by the monotonous commutes,...Reading | By Nathan C. Walker | February 24, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), Belief, Calling, Challenge, Change, Character, Direct Experience, Easter, Gratitude, Homecoming / Ingathering, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Respect, Trust, Unitarian Universalism, Worth, Yom Kippur
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For those of us who follow the Christian tradition, now is the season of advent, a time of waiting. And whether or not we are Christian I believe that Unitarian Universalists and progressives of any or no faith have something to learn from this Christian season of advent this year. Because we are...Reading | By Annie Gonzalez Milliken | February 19, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Activism, Advent, Anti-Oppression, Change, Christianity, Direct Experience, Empathy, Race/Ethnicity, Unitarian Universalism
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As a Unitarian Universalist minister, it is sometimes my role to answer correspondence that comes to our congregation from members of the community. Last night, I received this brief note in my inbox: Good Evening: I am very upset at the signage that is outside of your church stating that “Black...Reading | By Daniel S. Schatz | February 19, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, Anti-Oppression, Healing, Race/Ethnicity, Seven Principles, Unitarian Universalism, Violence
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Christmas and Hanukah once upon a time were about struggle, hope, and freedom. Both stories are exile stories pointing out how even a glimmer of light can provide a lasting hope for the triumph of all that is good. While we haven’t altogether lost these themes in our modern interpretations, we...Reading | By Daniel Chesney Kanter | February 17, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christmas Eve / Christmas, Hanukkah, Interdependence, Meaning, Wealth
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Do not think we are finished— oh no we will never be finished never just done until the light of justice is lit behind every eye. Do not think we will be silent— no there will not be silence until the world has sung the names of the dead with full throats and still we will sing on. Do not think...Reading | By Audette Fulbright Fulson | February 2, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Activism, Anti-Oppression, Brokenness, Courage, Direct Experience, Justice, Oppression, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity
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This is adapted from a litany by Gail Forsyth-Vail, who suggests the following to maximize the reading's power: Identify seventeen people who will come forward to represent the generations of African Americans in the British colonies and in the United States. As you name the first generation,...Reading | By James (Jay) C Leach | January 29, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 6th Principle (World Community), Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, History, Humanism, Juneteenth, Justice, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity
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This reading requires seventeen people who are able to come forward and represent the generations of African Americans in the British colonies and in the United States. As you name the first generation, indicate to a person that they should stand. Each time you call a new generation, you indicate...Reading | By Gail Forsyth-Vail | January 29, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 6th Principle (World Community), Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, History, Humanism, Juneteenth, Justice, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity
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“The Miseducation of Justice-Making” excerpted from Nathan C. Walker (2014) Exorcising Preaching: Crafting Intellectually Honest Worship. St. Louis: Chalice Press. What does justice-making look like, feel like, when we receive hostile communication? Are we hostile in return? Or is something else...Reading | By Nathan C. Walker | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Courage, Direct Experience, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Relationships, Strength, Teamwork, Unitarian Universalism, Unity
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“Beyond the Zero-Sum Game” excerpted from Nathan C. Walker (2014) Exorcising Preaching: Crafting Intellectually Honest Worship. St. Louis: Chalice Press. For centuries, insiders have been democratizing their religions. Incremental moments of institutional reform have led to a new era of...Reading | By Nathan C. Walker | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Courage, Covenant, Direct Experience, Power, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Responsibility, Teamwork, Unitarian Universalism
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“This Ain’t No Country Club” excerpted from Nathan C. Walker (2014) Exorcising Preaching: Crafting Intellectually Honest Worship. St. Louis: Chalice Press. There is no time to be spinning around ourselves saying, “We’re so small. We’re a minority religion.” As if “minority” is...Reading | By Nathan C. Walker | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Courage, Meaning, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Purpose, Searching, Unity
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“Personal Spiritual Trainers” excerpted from Nathan C. Walker (2014) Exorcising Preaching: Crafting Intellectually Honest Worship. St. Louis: Chalice Press. When you come to me, come not with the expectation to have some passive clergyperson coddle you into complacency. No. Come to me as your...Reading | By Nathan C. Walker | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Direct Experience, Growth, Humility, Meaning, Progress, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Purpose, Unitarian Universalism
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Waiting to be born, again, into the morning, onto the day, from dark warm comfort, of my bed full of sleep and blankets, back into bright spring-scented air with all its life and branches....Reading | By Tess Baumberger | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Advent, Birth, Christianity, Hope, Letting Go, Patience, Unitarian Universalism, Winter Solstice / Yule
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Asked if he was lonesome in his hut on Walden Pond, our neighbor Henry Thoreau famously replied, “How could I be lonely? Don’t I live in the Milky Way?” Thoreau doubtless would have been encouraged by the recent discovery of Kepler-22, a planet just 600 light years from earth right in the...Reading | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Advent, Awe, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Direct Experience, Science, Wonder
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We’ve begun a new ritual around our dinner table in which each member of the family takes a minute or two to name what he or she has been grateful for. No matter how yucky our day has been, we try to offer our gratitude in the spirit of kindness and real thankfulness. Often, the ritual’s nicest...Reading | By Jane E Mauldin | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Forgiveness, Gratitude
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Leader: Spring, the triumph of light over darkness, Response: Victory of newness and growth, and warmth vanquishing cold, Leader: We, too, know coldness and darkness within us, as it is in our world....Reading | By Charles F Flagg | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Vernal Equinox
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Please join me now in a litany for the season. I invite you to respond with the words, “We remember. We forgive. We love.” For gifts we yearned for, but did not receive… For things we received, but never wanted… For those who offered us cheer when what we needed was comfort… For those who...Reading | By Peter Friedrichs | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christmas Eve / Christmas
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Listen! This is a noisy world. You may have heard of the story of a dispute in the student union of one university. It seems "the presence of a juke box...disrupted conversation. Conversationalists petitioned for removal of the offending machine....Reading | By Richard S. Gilbert | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Listening