If you have come here tonight on Rosh Hashanah and feel that there is nothing to examine, no wound in your life to heal, no relationship to repair—then I hope you will listen especially closely to the shofar.

In this heartbreak what we carry forth is our humanity in newly revealed form—our hearts tender and delicate.

May you be tender and gentle with yourself

Loss binds us together undeniably.

May we know that the infinite web of life and love holds us all and holds all the stories.

I am afraid and exhausted from the constant fear. I don’t know who to trust for information about the virus.

The crisis was an opportunity to learn to be fully me and love it, inner turmoil and all. I learned that strength comes from authenticity, never from perfection.

Knit six purl six sets of two rows four rows six rows up to twelve, patterns, repeating, steady, soothingly same. This is not what life is like. Life is like picking up a tousled hunk of yarn pulled out of the basket by an impatient child looking for a string too many times. You find an end. You...

[S]piritual and meditative practices are not meant to erase pain. That's a symptom of our pain-avoidant culture, and not an accurate portrayal of the practices themselves. It's a misuse of so many beautiful teachings to force them into roles they were never meant to play....

We are broken, O God. We are broken. We gather in vigil again to mourn the death of school children and school teachers. Death and violence are the reasons that draw us together in sorrow, in anger, in anxious grief and loss....

Set up for this ritual: It's especially meaningful to have a congregant bake bread for communion. (If that’s not possible, store bought bread will do.) Cut the bread into cubes and place in baskets lined with napkins. Have a basket of gluten-free crackers available as well. To hold the juice, one...

We all take part in this ancient play. At some time. There is no other way. At some time… Thieves, guilty of poor choices caught red-handed in our human reality. One points at the other and says, “You: save me.” The other bows his head. “I accept responsibility. The mistakes I’ve made are...

As the news cycle brings us images of terror and heartbreak once again, We grieve together As each of us faces into this new level of horror, We grieve together As we remember other moments of pain, fear, and loss, We grieve together Yearning for an end to violence and suffering, We grieve togeth...

The days that come and carry away your spirit, your spark — bow down. Lay your head on the hard earth and let your brokenness join the death that is stirring there. Life rebels against death, takes the very dust of our bones and reweaves it into glory. You were made for Life, and Life does not...

For those we miss. For things long gone. For those who or what we last held in our arms, in our hands and in our hearts — we pray. We pray for memories to stay strong Memories of words and warmth, of actions and stillness. We pray for Love shared and lived, Love to remain with us and with them,...

Inexplicable. How we rise each morning, instead of burying our heads under bedcovers, sewing them shut. Why we keep on welcoming babies with bone-deep joy to this sordid world. How we fill burlap sacks with grit and gratitude, our hands shredded as we drag one over the other....

Spirit of life and death, Thou who art as present to us in our suffering As in our wellbeing, Abide with us in this permeable time Between dusk and dark. Soothe the secret pains we carry. Bless us with the courage to move toward our grief And not away. When all is hidden— When we find ourselves...

Mother's Day is complicated. Joyful for many, yes, but complicated. It's right there on the calendar, even if your mother has died....

Joy and grief Health and sickness Light and Darkness Peace and anger Life and death Wholeness and brokeness We each bring all of these here to this sanctuary of unity in diversity For this one hour of this one day And pour them out Commingling the oil of our lives To become the flame of this chal...