I had a phone call from David in Tennessee tonight. David and I became good friends in 11th grade and have remained close ever since. What you need to know about David for this story is that while he’s nominally a Methodist, he’s more “spiritual but not religious”… except he’s not very spiritual. But for someone who isn’t spiritual, he seems to attract a lot of spirits. One of his encounters became a turning point for me, in 2001 when... Read more

This message just went out on the Denton UU e-mail list: Rev. Bill Metzger passed away peacefully this morning at Denton Regional Medical Center. He was 73 years old. His wife, our consulting minister Rev. Diana Heath, was with him when he passed. Rev. Diana and Bill’s children, David and Christine, have been at his side since he was moved from ICU to hospice care on Thursday. According to Bill’s wishes, the family will have him cremated. A memorial service... Read more

Here’s a YouTube video of “Amazing Grace” and “Hallelujah Anyhow” by the choirs of the Center for Spiritual Living and Unity Dallas, at the EarthRhythms Winter SolstiCelebration. It was awesome – enjoy. Read more

If you’re in the DFW area, please join us for our Imbolc Circle this Saturday evening. Click the image for a larger version of the flyer. Read more

This piece began as part of our Beltane ritual in 2008 – I reworked it slightly to serve as the Call to Worship for this morning’s service. In the time before time, we were one.All matter, all energy, all potential.All was one. Then in a bang we abandoned the bliss of unityfor the love of Creation,and the creation of Love. The great singularity becamestars and planets and galaxies.Life: simple at first,then expanding into the great danceof birth and death and... Read more

The earthquake in Haiti has dominated the news this week. It is human nature to ask “why?” and “what does it mean?” and there have been a variety of responses: some logical, some spiritual, and some just willfully ignorant. First things first. This earthquake has killed thousands and devastated millions. Real people are suffering – DO something. I’m giving to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, but there are numerous organizations that have the infrastructure to respond to a crisis like... Read more

As readers of this blog should know, I’m no fan of the New Atheists. I’ve found them to be as dogmatic in their statements as any religious fundamentalists. And they don’t attack honest religion – they attack rhetorical straw men made up of the worst of religion. I have not criticized them in ignorance – I’ve read numerous articles and essays by and about them (most frequently Christopher Hitchens, but also Richard Dawkins and to a lesser extent, Sam Harris... Read more

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Via WitchVox, here’s a list issued by a group calling themselves the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission. They list the “Top 10 Anti-Christian Acts of 2009“. Included in their list is the murder of Rev. Fred Winters (which was due to mental illness on the part of the shooter), the participation of Bishop Gene Robinson in Obama’s inauguration, the new Federal Hate Crimes law, and a program on HBO they found offensive. This list is an insult to people of all faiths... Read more

When I saw the trailers for Avatar, the first thought that went through my head was “I gotta see this one.” But when I read the early reviews (which can be summarized as “all effects and a predictable story”) I figured I’d save my money. Then after it opened I started reading some other reviews attacking its “religious content” and I knew I had to see it for myself. So Cathy and I went to see it today. It was... Read more