Not long ago I was sucked into a bit of a conversation about atheism based on some comments I made on this blog. If you’re interested in that you need only scroll down a ways. My interlocutor goes by the nom de web “dr rieux.” I found him a delightful and thoughtful Unitarian Universalist of the humanist atheist stripe, who by his rigor and heart witnessed how that branch of our little band has not lost its juice. While noodling... Read more

Leonard Cohen’s wisdom, this time sung by Allison CroweI think I want this sung at my funeral. Read more

Well, my promise to write a posting on the quaint and curious customs of the Fraters of the Wayside Inn needs to be deferred a little. Don’t worry, that post will come along before long… But I only have a couple of free minutes today and wanted instead to mention a project being worked up by my esteemed colleague, Frater the Reverend Doctor Walter Wieder. Walt to his intimates. In a paper he delivered to the Fraters yesterday he mentioned... Read more

(Nearly, okay, okay, all information, cast of language (at least the good parts) and every interesting detail in what follows was stolen by Frater James Ishmael Ford from Frater Charles Howe’s privately printed The Latter-Day Fraters: A History of the Fraters of the Wayside Inn 1971-2007) The Fraters of the Wayside Inn is a clergy study group, the oldest within the Unitarian Universalist Association. The inaugural gathering of the Fraters took place in 1903 at the First Parish in Malden,... Read more

My old friend Walt Wieder (UU minister and increasingly these days a “radio personality.” Follow that link to listen to a kind and rational progressive radio show…) flew in from Arizona last eve and later today he & I drive off to Sudbury for the one hundred and sixth gathering of the Fraters of the Wayside Inn. Yesterday I googled the Fraters and was disappointed to see the closest thing to a “full” description of this venerable organization was something... Read more

I was asked to prepare a prayer for a memorial service today. This is what I was able to offer. Considering the last post, it felt appropriate to share it here… Oh Mystery, We are born into the worlda star rising in the night. We shine,We burn. Our bodies ache with loveand longing. Our lives filledwith sorrow and joy Then,in a moment,so fast,so fast,that star falls below the horizon. And now, here we are,those who remain. And that flickering lightbecomes... Read more

UU Enforcer posted this quote the other day. The Enforcer (whom I find an intriguing blogger. You might check it out…) offers the quote without comment. I have never seen Atheism dry the tears of a widowed bride. I have never seen Atheism comfort the single mother. I have never seen Atheism calm the spirit of a distressed father. And I have never seen Atheism offer hope to the hopeless, forgiveness to the sinner, and grace and mercy to all... Read more

Sojiji temple is a training monastery and one of the two main temples of the Japanese Soto Zen Shu. A nice snapshot… Read more

We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more... Read more

And I didn’t make it up. National Religious Freedom Day officially remembers and celebrates the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, drafted by Thomas Jefferson (and marked on his tombstone as one of the signal events of his life. Curiously, his presidency isn’t mentioned…) and adopted by the Commonwealth of Virginia on January 16th, 1786. I suspect there are two things that keeps our republic juicy. One is freedom of the press. I’ve heard, although I couldn’t find it in a... Read more