Here’s an article on UU World that picks up a topic I’ve been discussing with Rev. Diana: what would a Unitarian Universalist spiritual practice look like? Members of every religious community differ widely in their interest in spiritual practice. Some simply want to belong. Some get all they need from Sunday services. Others add Adult RE. But in the UU world, if you want more than that, if you want a structured program of spiritual exploration and depth, the only... Read more

Boston Unitarian is a blog by a semi-anonymous Director of Religious Education at a large UU church in Massachusetts. The bulk of his posts are drawn from 19th Century Unitarian Christians. PeaceBang calls it “a free on-line course in classical Unitarianism you can take in fun little doses.” Today’s post is from a sermon by James Walker, a Unitarian minister who was also President of Harvard University from 1853 to 1860. I’ve excerpted the excerpt – the words below are... Read more

Here’s an interesting essay from The Times of London. A “confirmed atheist” says that Africa (location of some of the deepest and most persistent poverty in the world) doesn’t need secular aid – it needs Christian missionaries. Matthew Parris is a former Member of Parliament who grew up in South Africa and has seen much of the continent and its troubles first-hand. His basic argument is that tribal culture promotes maintenance of the status quo and stifles any entrepreneurial attempts... Read more

image from the Robin Wood Tarot On very rare occasions, I have dreams I can only describe as prophetic. They are clearly different from nightly sorting and filing dreams and from messages from my subconscious, though I can’t say exactly how they’re different. Whatever their source, though, they’re never wrong. Several years ago I had a prophetic dream about a couple of good friends from Atlanta who are evangelical Christians (of the “live what Jesus taught” variety, not the “my... Read more

Ever since I got out of college I’ve been doing “year-end reviews.” I’ve found they help me see how far I’ve come in a year, and they help me to remember the good things in life as well as the bad. This was particularly important when I was in my 20s and struggling to figure out what I wanted in life. They’re more subtle now, for a variety of reasons, but I still find them helpful. As I finished up... Read more

One of my frequent complaints is that there are very few serious books on Pagan theology. So I was very happy to find The Deities Are Many by Jordan Paper, which I read on our recent holiday trip. Jordan Paper is Professor Emeritus of Humanities at York University in Toronto. He grew up Jewish, became a Buddhist and then a Daoist, then had several experiences which led him to follow the practices of Native American and traditional Chinese religions (both... Read more

Cathy and I spent Christmas Eve with her mother, which included a Christmas Eve service at her mother’s Methodist church. The service itself was not unlike every other Christmas Eve candlelight service (including those at UU churches), but it did include Holy Communion. And I had to do some quick thinking to decide if I should receive it or not. Communion is not the centerpiece of Methodist worship the way it is in the Catholic and Episcopal churches – most... Read more

I’m off for a few days to a decidedly non-spiritual destination: the Beau Rivage Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. Several years ago, Cathy and I decided that instead of running around trying to buy each other a bunch of presents we didn’t much want and certainly didn’t need, we’d go somewhere fun instead. When we lived in Atlanta, we’d go to Biloxi a couple times a year. It’s a longer drive from Dallas so we haven’t been since 2001,... Read more

I asked Rev. Diana for some book recommendations on contemporary liberal theology. Her first recommendation was Wishful Thinking – A Theological ABC by Frederick Buechner. It’s a miniature encyclopedia (only 100 pages), and when I opened it, my first thought was “I don’t need to read this – I already know what these terms mean.” But after reading just a few pages I realized that Buechner was explaining his theology through his definitions. Here are a few excerpts: Doubt: Whether... Read more

Just got back from the Moonlady Winter SolstiCelebration. I’ll post pictures or links to them once they get them up on the EarthRhythms site. Here’s my part: I am Britannia,and by the Great Mother Anu and the Lord of the Animals,from the standing stones of the Salisbury plainand the sacred light and dark of Newgrange,I give you the spirit of Boudicca, Arthur, Elizabeth, and Churchill.I give you the power of the Earth, the Sky, and the Sea.I give you the... Read more