DEMETER’S JOURNEY, AND OURSA Hymn to the Goddess 21 March 2010 James Ishmael Ford A Sermon delivered at theFirst Unitarian ChurchProvidence, Rhode Island TextBecause I could not stop for Death,He kindly stopped for me;The carriage held but just ourselvesAnd Immortality. We slowly drove, he knew no haste, And I had put awayMy labor, and my leisure too,For his civility.We passed the school, where children stroveAt recess, in the ring;We passed the fields of gazing grain,We passed the setting sun.Or rather,... Read more

Albert Einstein published his General Theory of Relativity on this day in 1916. Here’s an explanation I can understand. Well, sort of… Why do I think there should be a party or something, a parade or at least a cake? Or, perhaps, a music video… Read more

I’m one of those people who have only spotty memories from childhood. I stand in awe of those who recall incidents when they were three. And, I admit, a little suspicion, as well, particularly when these recollections get detailed. Whatever, for me, only memory fragments here and there. One of which was my beloved Davy Crocket Coonskin hat, which for a time could not be removed from my head. As for many who were children in the 1950’s, Davy Crocket... Read more

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One can see why some mourn the coming of St Patrick to Ireland and the foundation of the Roman church on the emerald Isle… And for those with an interest in such matters, here’s a lovely reflection on Irish religion. Read more

Recently I was at an event where the main speaker was a prominent minister in our denomination. He was speaking of various things, but one point particularly caught my attention. He described a trip to Latin America he made with some friends a few years ago. It was to a country that had been torn by civil strife and included revolutionary activities, paramilitaries and much of the deep ugliness of covert war. Our country had dirty hands in the mess,... Read more

Sesshin ended at noon on Sunday. Jan & I stopped and gobbled a sandwich, then started a mad dash to Roxbury and the installation of the new senior minister and executive director of the Benevolent Fraternity of Unitarian Universalist Churches, the UU Urban Ministry, the, near as I can tell, oldest social service agency in the country. The new senior minister is an old Zen hand and a member of our sangha. The installation preacher said how spiritual engagement and... Read more

This afternoon Jan & I are off to sesshin, leaving auntie & the cats in charge of the homestead. This means it is unlikely there will be any additional posts before Sunday evening… In the meantime here’s something to chew on… Nothing Nothing sings in our bodies like breath in a flute. It dwells in the drum. I hear it now that slow beat like when a voice said to the dark, let there be light, let there be ocean and blue fish born of nothing and they were there. I... Read more

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On this day in 1965 James Reeb lay in an Alabama hospital, his life slipping away. Read more