I see that on this day in 1927 Mae West’s play “Sex” was declared obscene and she was sentenced to serve ten days in jail. Ms West was an author, probably known for creating many of her own lines in the many films she starred it, but she also wrote eight plays. This was one, maybe, her first. I’m unclear on that. For “Sex” she was specifically convicted for corrupting the morals of youth. I am clear on that… Read more

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THE LUCK OF THE IRISH A Sermon of Human Possibility Preached on a St Patrick’s Day James Ishmael Ford 17 March 2013 First Unitarian Church Providence, Rhode Island Text Love is never defeated, and I could add, the history of Ireland proves it. John Paul II The world, as one of my teachers once said, is made of stories. Stories tell us where we came from and who we are. And they point to what we might become. Those who... Read more

I see that someone at Wikipedia makes this the day in 597 (before our common era) when the Babylonians capture Jerusalem and put Zedekiah on the throne. A bad move for the Israelis but eventually something good for world religion, I think. Zedekiah would revolt, it doesn’t go well, the city is captured & put to the torch, the king is made to witness the execution of his family, is then blinded, and after that herded up with the artisans... Read more

Ah the Ides of March. Better known in some circles as international kill a tyrant day. I loved that for some years in the Unitarian Universalist Association the seasonal match up of ministers and congregations culminated on this day when offers were extended. Allowing the great mix of things. That particular annual rite has moved to the 21st of the month, the Equinox, and I’ve learned in somebody’s Astrological terms the beginning of the New Year. So, good symbolism all... Read more

I like the pope’s selection for his new name. I like that he uses public transportation and usually cooks for himself, or, at least, did until yesterday. I like his assertions of solidarity with the poor. And, I’m a lot less sanguine about other things that are being asserted about his past and his positions on many current social issues. And… Why should I care, you might ask? Why should a Unitarian Universalist parish minister and Zen Buddhist care about... Read more

Emma Varvaloucas interviewed Taste of Chicago Buddhism blogger and Shin Buddhist priest, Patti Nakai for the most recent issue of Tricyle. “Reverend Patti Nakai,” Emma writes, is “the associate minister at the Buddhist Temple of Chicago, grew up as a Presbyterian. Born in the Lakeview area of Chicago, to a Buddhist father and a Christian mother, she attended a church with a congregation that, like the neighborhood itself, was heavily Japanese-American. A third-generation Japanese-American herself, Reverend Patti began delving into... Read more

By tradition this is the day in 632 (by common reckoning) that the Prophet Mohammed delivered the Khutbatu I-Wada, his farewell sermon. An interesting document, in some ways the summation of his teachings. For those not interested in reading the Koran (although I recommend a read, it is shorter than the New Testament, a brief book all by itself), a way to get a peek into the formative teachings of the religion… I found this text at several places on... Read more

On this day in 1876 Alexander Graham Bell was granted a patent for a device he called the telephone. Others were working on similar projects and perhaps he wasn’t really the first. At this point such things don’t really matter. He & his team came up with a working device for talking across wires. On that day in 1876 the world shrunk by a magnitude… Now, sure, we can push earlier for shrinking the world technologies. The various people who... Read more

I see that on this day in 1616 the Roman church banned Nicolaus Copernicus’ De revolutionibus orbium coelestium. To be fair, Martin Luther hadn’t been particularly appreciative, either. Copernicus had dedicated the book to Pope Paul III, but, as noted, that didn’t help. Also, to be fair, if such is the right term, in 1758, Pope Benedict XIV had the book removed from the Index of Forbidden Books. It didn’t even take a century and a half to correct course... Read more