Jan & James just after signing the book becoming members of the First Unitarian Church of Providence. Thank you, Katy, for the photograph… Read more

I was visiting one of my favorite blogs when I learned that last week Webster Kitchell had died. At the UUA bookstore there’s an unsigned biography that’s both good and brief. Webster Lardner Kitchell1931-2009 The Reverend Webster Lardner Kitchell died on February 9, 2009 of complications from Parkinson’s disease. He was 71. Rev. Kitchell was born in Newburyport, MA, on May 21, 1931, to Francis Robert Kitchell and Jeannette Abbot Kitchell. He was the youngest of four brothers, following Frank,... Read more

Click on image to enlarge… Thank you, Clare! Read more

As regular readers of this blog might know I am a supporter of Laurel Hallman’s bid to become the next president of the Unitarian Universalist Association. I am one of many ministers and lay leaders who have long been impressed with Laurel as a leader within our Association and feel she is the best candidate to take us through these next difficult years with a promising vision. I am pleased to learn that our Moderator Gini Courter agrees… The Rev.... Read more

I notice how the Bengali Hindu saint Ramakrishna was born today in 1836. By a sweet coincidence I’ve committed to preaching this Sunday on aspects of Hinduism and my touchstone is going to be Ramakrishna Vivekananda Vedanta. Several thoughts spin out from this small factoid. First, after reading the Wikipedia article, as is my wont for quick summaries, I went to see what the discussion material revealed. And, my goodness, it showed up once again why Wikipedia might well be... Read more

Before seeking out a teacher in the Zen tradition, it would be wise to read a little about all the traditions you sense might help you. If, after a period of reading and questioning, you think Zen might be the path for you, then continuing to read about Zen is important. But more important, if the Zen path sounds right for you, I would suggest you start by taking up the practice of Zen meditation pretty much right now. You... Read more

On this day in 1600 Giordano Bruno the former friar, amazing thinker, difficult personality and arguably the “first” martyr to science was burned alive at the stake. I am fascinated by the range of people who admire him, from as Puala Findlen notes in her essay A Hungry Mind, main stream scientists “like Ernst Haeckel and Herbert Spencer to leading literary figures like Vicotr Hugo and Henrik Ibsen,” and I would include to pantheist philosophers to flying saucer enthusiasts. Clearly... Read more

Today is Charlie McCarthy’s birthday. Oh, also Edgar Bergen’s… according to one of the commentators at Youtube “This was one of the first (if not the first) of Edgar and Charlie’s one-reel Warner Bros./Vitaphone shorts, released in 1931. At the time, Bergen was still on the vaudeville and night club circuit, and really didn’t make an impact on radio until his famous appearance on Rudy Vallee’s “ROYAL GELATIN HOUR” in December 1936, which led to his weekly “CHASE & SANBORN... Read more

James at the installation of our Lay Ministers, four of whom are pictured here.James in the church’s grand pulpit… thank you, Richard Boober, for these photographs… Read more

VALENTINE’S ARROWS A Sermon on the True Nature of Friendship James Ishmael Ford 15 February 2009 First Unitarian ChurchProvidence, Rhode Island Text Ananda, the beloved disciple of the Buddha, once asked his teacher and friend about the place of friendship in the spiritual journey. “Master, is friendship half of the spiritual life?” he asked. The Enlightened One responded: “Nay, Ananda, friendship is the whole of the spiritual life.” Jesus had his beloved friend, John; King David had Jonathan; St. Francis... Read more