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RENDER UNTO CAESAR AND THE WIDOW’S MITE A Meditation on Money and Spirituality 6 March 2011 James Ishmael Ford First Unitarian Church Providence, Rhode Island Text And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury; and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and said unto them, Verily... Read more

Thanks, Ryk, for the pointer! Read more

A MEDITATION ON THE (ZEN) ART OF JUST SITTING A Dharma Talk by James Myoun Ford 3 March 2011 Boundless Way Temple Worcester, Massachusetts During the course of our mini Ango, this intensive practice period we’ve been exploring Hongzhi’s way of silent illumination. I’m really glad. It is the foundation of our way, and well worth exploring. This evening I want to approach the matter from another angle. Starting with Case 67 of the koan anthology, the Book of Serenity,... Read more

Happy birthday, Dr Seuss! We miss you… Read more

By Bryan Marquard of the Boston Globe The Rev. Peter J. Gomes, who was known internationally as Harvard’s pastor and was just as pleased to call himself a son of Plymouth, died Monday night at Massachusetts General Hospital. He had suffered a stroke in early December and his death was confirmed by a hospital spokeswoman. He was 68 and had divided his time and identity between a 1799 house in his hometown and Sparks House, the 19th-century residence reserved for... Read more

@font-face { font-family: “Times New Roman”;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } For the Spiritual But Not Religious: Two Cents on a Monday Morning. James Ishmael Ford Yesterday at the Meeting House was wonderful. The service turned on a reflection on pilgrimage. The music was astonishing. Afterwords the coffee hour was filled with conversation and various projects. A bit later... Read more

THE ROYAL ROAD TO ROMANCE A Meditation on the Pilgrim Path and an Invitation 27 February 2011 James Ishmael Ford First Unitarian Church            Providence, Rhode Island Text I live my life in widening circles that reach out across the world. I may not complete this last one but I give myself to it. I circle around God, around the primordial tower. I’ve been circling for thousands of years and I still don’t know: am I a falcon, a storm, or... Read more

On this day in 1917, the Original Dixieland Jass Band (yes, that’s with double ss’s) cut the first known Jazz record with a rendition of Livery Stable Blues. With that, a proud American tradition was born… Not without controversy. For various reasons, music was sometimes involved, not everyone got aboard.. Now, in many circles it seems Jazz is classical. Rather cool for an American musical form where Africa and Europe meet… And now at absolutely no extra charge a little... Read more