Emily Dickinson was born today! So glad that happened… Read more

On this day in 1531 the Virgin of Guadalupe first appeared to the indigenous peasant Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin. The local bishop was convinced of the reality of the vision when the Virgin caused a poncho to imprint with her image. Who am I to argue? Well, okay, me. It is in my nature to be suspicious of supernatural claims. In fact it is my observation that the best any such claims can rise to is inconclusive. The vast, vast majority... Read more

For the first time in, oh, I don’t know, fifteen years, more, I am not at Rohatsu sesshin, a Zen meditation retreat honoring the Buddha’s great awakening. Auntie who has been ill had to have an exploratory surgery and so Jan and I stayed home, while our friends flocked to the temple in Worcester to stare at walls for hours upon hours, and days upon days. What can I say? You have to have done it to understand how I... Read more

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I learned a bit about asking questions some years ago. My mom was dying. While her son with whom she lived was a Unitarian Universalist and a Zen Buddhist priest, religion was rarely a topic of conversation. Her mother had been a fundamentalist Baptist, and while she professed being a Protestant, she attended church maybe a dozen times in a half dozen years. I don’t know, it felt important. And while driving together alone on some errand or other, I... Read more

On this day in 1933 with Utah’s ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment to the Constitution, the great and terrible experiment of Prohibition ends. Jan & I dipped into Ken Burns’ five and a half hour, three part series on how Prohibition began, what it did, and how it ended. In part we didn’t see the whole thing because our lifestyle doesn’t support watching anything at this scale at this time in our lives. But, also, while in some ways compelling,... Read more

  SALVATION BY CHARACTER A Reflection on William Ellery Channing, Ethics, and Social Activism Within Liberal Religion James Ishmael Ford 4 December 2011 First Unitarian Church Providence, Rhode Island Text Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Thessalonians 5:21 Pretty much everyone here has had to hear my story about William Ellery Channing. In short it was my finding a pamphlet edition of his sermon “Unitarian Christianity” that led me on a quest, which in pretty much a... Read more

At my Facebook account an old and dear friend forwarded me a cartoon that’s been floating around for a while now. It’s called “Geek Meditation System.” The single panel has people sitting together in various meditation postures. The leader is saying, first, “In your mind’s browser, clear your cache…” Then, “Now delete your history…” and finally, “Now navigate to a blank web page…” Cute. And, it points to something people do. No doubt, it actually more or less describes what... Read more

I’m running up on a very busy weekend at the church. This Saturday we are joining with our sisters and brothers at Beneficent Congregational Church in downtown Providence to put on a feast and party for the homeless and those at risk for hunger. Just too much food and entertainment. A couple of speeches, but not much. This will be the second time we’ve done this. The last time we provided a spread for a couple of hundred folk. Coordination... Read more

On this day in 1965, Arlo Guthrie was convicted for littering… Small crime. Memorable song for many of us, particularly those of us of a certain age… Read more