all photos by Richard Boober Read more

I see that today, if I did the math right, marks the eight hundred and twenty eighth anniversary of the murder of Thomas a Becket. Made a great play which very much marked me in my theologically questing youth. And a pretty good movie, as well. Of course the clash between church and state is a recurring theme, runs right up to today; and so is well worth reflecting upon… Read more

As I settled in for the evening I started going through my favorite bloggers and saw that Dharmakara, an English writer who joins a Pure Land practice with regular attendance at a Friends unprogrammed meeting had just put something up. I always look at what he has to say… In a haunting reflection Dharmakara offered this startling, annoying and compelling quote. The writer he quotes, rolls his eyes at “the inanity of the sermons and the arrogance of many congregants,... Read more

THAT LAST LIGHT A Hanukkah Sermon James Ishmael Ford 28 December 2008First Unitarian ChurchProvidence, Rhode Island The Text Blessed is the match consumed in kindling the flame. Blessed is the flame that burns in the heart’s secret places. Blessed is the heart with strength to stop its beating for honor’s sake. Blessed is the match consumed in kindling the flame. Hannah Senesh Many religious communities in the west follow a liturgical calendar, which means for the most part the subject... Read more

I notice that on this day in 1065 Westminster Abbey was consecrated. A few years ago when we were in London our visit to Westminster Abbey was a high point. The royals were vaguely interesting, but I have trouble thinking of them as much other than gangsters, and they didn’t get lots of our attention. I did enjoy the surprising fact that the coronation throne, King Edward’s Chair, was heavily carved with various people’s names – from a time they... Read more

Up early… Taking Jan to the airport in half an hour. This year auntie & I will not be joining her as she visits family in Los Angeles for the week. We’ve spent money like drunken sailors for the past many months and beyond expenses there’s much to do here at home. Although without the brains of the family, unpacking might start getting a bit creative… Speaking of creative, and of disappearing, if you have a couple of minutes and... Read more

Once upon a time I wrote a sermon that had an amazing half-life on the web, being referenced around the globe. It was written while I served our Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Tempe, Arizona. I no longer recall the exact circumstances around the why of it, but I suspect that Sunday was the 26th, as the subject and title of the sermon was “Boxing Day.” It appears there was relatively so little available on the web related to Boxing... Read more

So, after a cup of coffee, followed by an exchange of presents, followed by a pancake breakfast, I sat down wondering what my Christmas day reflection might look like. A quick look at Wikipedia’s list of historic events that occurred on this day showed (if you squint about various shifts in the calendar) today is Isaac Newton’s birthday. Newton is a more than suitable subject to point to from the Monkey Mind. Newton’s list of accomplishments is astonishingly long ranging... Read more

Leonard Cohen sings to the heart of this moment and what we find there: the birth of hope into the world, the light inside the dark, the truth of our lives. (And if you like such approaches to spiritual music you should check out various suggetions by David Markham…) Read more

On this day in 1914 at the front between the German and British armies in Ypres some German troops lit up some trees with candles and began to sing Stille Nacht and other carols. The British responded in kind. An informal truce began. Apparently this truce occurred along the line between various forces The high commands were not happy, and the next year ordered artillery bombardments on Christmas Eve. Nonetheless similar events took place again, although on a much smaller... Read more