2011-11-01T15:12:13-07:00

On the 25th of March, 1957, customs officials seized 520 copies of Allen Ginsberg’s book Howl and Other Poems which had been shipped from a printer in London. The publisher and bookseller Lawrence Ferlinghetti was charged with purveying obscenity. On this day in 1957 Judge Clayton Horn declared in favor of Ferlinghetti, declaring the poem’s importance. Considering our times, this seems a worthy moment to recall it, the rage, and the beauty… Read more

2011-11-01T15:12:13-07:00

Late breaking news: Bishop Carlton Pearson has recently decided to join a Unitarian Universalist congregation. Read more

2011-11-01T15:12:14-07:00

(Gandhi’s life was an epic, so a movie trailer does feel right for my purposes today…) The Indian spiritual and political leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on this day in 1869 in Porbander, a town in present day Gujarat. Later called Mahatma, or Great Soul, a title bestowed by the poet Rabindranath Tagore, Gandhi would become a singular figure on the twentieth century public stage. For me a compelling figure as a spiritual presence whose life and teachings had... Read more

2011-11-01T15:12:14-07:00

On this day in 1847 Maria Mitchell became the first woman credited with discovering a comet. She would go on to become a leading American astronomer. Read more

2011-11-01T15:12:14-07:00

Eleanore Elizabeth Gordon was born on this day in 1852, in Hamilton, Illinois. Eleanore was a remarkable individual, a nineteenth century Unitarian minister and leader of the Iowa Sisterhood. Unitarian Universalist minister and scholar Carol Hepokoski wrote a succinct summary of the Iowa Sisterhood. The leading force within the Iowa Sisterhood was Mary Augusta Safford. She organized seven societies throughout her ministry, and she encouraged other women into the missionary ministry. She began her organizing with a Unitarian church in... Read more

2011-11-01T15:12:14-07:00

Wolverine approached Raven after a meeting had broken up and said, “I’ve composed a poem about my practice. Do you want to hear it?” Raven said, “No.” Wolverine said, “I’m going to recite it anyway.” Raven gave a croak and flew up into the Assembly Oak. Next day, Mole told Porcupine about this, and said, “I thought Roshi was pretty rude to Wolverine. Why did he make such a point of not wanting to hear his poem?” Porcupine said, “He... Read more

2011-11-01T15:12:14-07:00

Elhanan Winchester was born on this day in 1751 in the Muddy River village (later rather wisely renamed Brookline), Massachusetts. First a Baptist minister the great awakening opened Elhanan’s heart to the realization a good God would not condemn his children to eternal perdition, and became a Universalist. A peripetatic clergyman, he founded the first Universalist church in Philadelphia and gathered a congregation in London and eventually served as moderator of the Massachussetts Universalist Convention. A prolific writer his book... Read more

2011-11-01T15:12:14-07:00

When I feed the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor are poor, they call me a communist. Oscar Romero Deep Justice in a Broken World p.17 Murdered by those who didn’t like the question… (thank you, John, for reminding us…) Read more

2011-11-01T15:12:14-07:00

BEGINNING AGAIN Reflecting onSecond Chances A Sermon by JamesIshmaelFord 28 September 2008 First Unitarian ChurchProvidence,Rhode IslandText Now God said to Jonah, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against their wickedness.” But instead Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish and went and found a ship. God sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest, so that the ship was about to be broken. The mariners were afraid, and cried every one... Read more

2011-11-01T15:12:15-07:00

NOTHING’S A GIFT Nothing’s a gift, it’s all on loan.I’m drowning in debts up to my ears.I’ll have to pay for myselfwith my self,give up my life for my life. Here’s how it’s arranged:The heart can be repossessed,the liver, too,and each single finger and toe. Too late to tear up the terms,my debts will be repaid,and I’ll be fleeced,or, more precisely, flayed. I move about the planetin a crush of other debtors.some are saddled with the burdenof paying off their... Read more

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