On this day in 1776, the Continental Congress appoints Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston to the Committee of Five to draft a declaration of independence. Read more

I understand as his life seeped from his wounds Robert Kennedy whispered to his wife Ethel, “Is everyone else all right?” They would be his last words. The forty-second anniversary of the senator’s death slipped by me some five days ago. A life-time has passed. And as significant as that moment was in our American lives, time passes, and memory fades… Right now, however, it is dying that is in the front of my mind. For the past five or... Read more

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A small tip of the hat to Jack Harrison, who died Friday. Sometimes it is hard to remember the Great Escape was real. My father who fought in Europe just loved the movie. And because of that, so did I. I’m still fond of my memories of it, carefully avoiding actually seeing it, something quite dangerous to fond memories… But the trailer is fun, in a boyfun sort of way… Rest in peace, Jack… Read more

A very long time ago I preached my very first sermon at a Unitarian Universalist church. I was a member of the Marin Unitarian Fellowship (now the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Marin) in San Rafael serving on the worship committee and for some reason the minister was going to be out of town. My title was Are You Running With Me, Buddha? It was, as best I recall, a reflection on my Zen Buddhist practice. The title was a homage... Read more

The other day on his facebook page my old Dharma buddy Paul Lynch quoted an old Japanese proverb that became the text for my sermon on Sunday. After I posted it, he commented on the Ryokan poem I cited in the sermon together with a clip of a Joni Mitchell song that draws inspiration from the poem. I thought it worth continuing the cycle by posting that song here… Read more

THEFT: A LOVE STORY A Sermon by James Ishmael Ford Delivered at the First Unitarian Church of Providence, Rhode Island on the 6th of June, 2010 Text Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare. Japanese proverb Back when I was preparing for the Unitarian Universalist ministry, like all such aspirants I was required to see a psychologist and undergo a battery of tests. Near as I could tell, this was mainly to make sure I... Read more

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I’m working on a sermon on theft, and well one thing led to another, and I ended up listening to Woody Guthrie’s “Ballad of Pretty Boy Floyd.” Now, I’m inclined to think Pretty Boy was a sociopath. But for Guthrie he becomes a stand in for those who suffered at the hands of the rich. And stand up to the system. In that spirit I recall in my childhood how my grandmother, a native of Missouri, would tell me the... Read more

I see today is the anniversary of the death of Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, Pope John XXIII (the second one, not the first…) A good man, no doubt. The pope of my childhood, the one protestants liked. Here’s a little tidbit from Bishop Fulton Sheen. (Whom I once met. But that’s another story) Go here for a lovely clip on John’s actions during the war. It doesn’t mention how he actually forged baptismal documents to help thousands of Jews escape. I... Read more