Don't believe everything you think. — Bumper sticker Talk about the quote. Have you ever seen it on a bumper sticker? What kind of people do you think have bumper stickers saying that? Would UUs use a bumper sticker like this? WHAT WE DID TODAY Today's Big Question asks, "How can I know what to...

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science... It was the experience of mystery, even if mixed with fear, that engendered religion....

If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person. If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house. If there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation. If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world. — Chinese proverb Talk...

We will be known forever by the tracks we leave. — Native American (Dakota) proverb Talk about the quote. What does it mean? Is it correct? Helpful to think about? Does it remind you of the butterfly effect we talked about in another Riddle and Mystery session? WHAT WE DID TODAY Today's Big...

When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe. — John Muir Talk about the quote. Do you agree with it? Can you think of anything that is not connected to something else in some way? Note that John Muir was a well known American naturalist and...

Do more than belong: participate. Do more than care: help. Do more than believe: practice. Do more than be fair: be kind. Do more than forgive: forget. Do more than dream: work. — William Arthur Ward Talk about the quote. Do you agree with it? Do you think most Unitarian Universalists agree with...

The question is not whether we will die but how we have lived. — Joan Borysenko, psychologist Talk about the quote. What does it mean to you? WHAT WE DID TODAY Today's Big Question is "What happens when you die?" We talked about some different answers to the question which come from a variety of...

Out of the stars in their flight, out of the dust of eternity, here have we come. — Robert T. Weston Talk about the quote. When you think about how life began, do you go all the way back to the stars?...

What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God. — Eleanor Powell Tell the truth, have you ever found God in a church? I never did. I just found a bunch of folks hoping for him to show. Any God I ever felt in church I brought in with me. And I think all the other folks did too.

I am always more interested in what I am about to do than what I have already done. — Rachel Carson Talk about the quote. Is it true? Does every single person on Earth help decide where we are going together? WHAT WE DID TODAY Today's Big Question is "Where are we going?" We thought about that in...

This is my living faith, an active faith, a faith of verbs: to question, explore, experiment, experience, walk, run, dance, play, eat, love, learn, dare, taste, touch, smell, listen, argue, speak, write, read, draw, provoke, emote, scream, sin, repent, cry, kneel, pray, bow, rise, stand, look,...

Being religious means asking passionately the question of the meaning of our existence and being willing to receive answers, even if the answers hurt. — Paul Tillich Talk about the quote. Paul Tillich was a religious philosopher who lived from 1886 to 1965. He seems to be saying that being...

It seems to me that if the majority of our kids continue to grow up to be "small U" UUs (but join Episcopalian or Presbyterian congregations because that is what their spouses [and partners] are) or join no congregation at all, then we have not entirely failed but we have failed at something...

Oh God, if there is a God, save my soul, if I have a soul. — Joseph Ernest Renan, French philosopher and historian Prayer helps us to identify our motives, our pains, our cravings, and joys. As we come to know ourselves, we are changed beyond selfishness into harmony with those Presences from...

I wear garments touched by hands from all over the world 35% cotton, 65% polyester, the journey begins in Central America In the cotton fields of El Salvador In a province soaked in blood, Pesticide-sprayed workers toil in a broiling sun... Third world women toil doing piece work to Sears...

The world of the powerful and that of the powerless... are never divided by a sharp line: everyone has a small part of himself in both. — Vaclav Havel, Czech poet and president The way a rich nation thinks about its poor will always be convoluted....

Let him who expects one class of society to prosper in the highest degree, while the other is in distress, try whether one side of the face can smile while the other is pinched. — Thomas Fuller (1608-1661), British clergyman and author IN TODAY’S SESSION… We reflected on how we view ourselves...

The tighter you squeeze, the less you have. — Thomas Merton To whom much is given is much required. — Christian scripture, Luke 12:49 IN TODAY'S SESSION... The group learned about privilege and what it means to have it and to share it. Privilege is defined, for the purpose of this session, as...

Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth. — Shirley Chisholm, African American politician and activist Service is the rent we pay to be living. It is the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time. — Marian Wright Edelman, president and founder...

No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helps you. — Althea Gibson, 20th-century African American tennis champion IN TODAY’S SESSION… We reflected on our willingness to support people we care about whether they are our family or friends. Sometimes, we sacrifice our time and comfort...