On Facebook religious historian Gregory Holmes Singleton was recommending a book Edward Baring, CONVERTS TO THE REAL: CATHOLICISM AND THE MAKING OF CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2019. Along with being a scholar Professor Soingleton is a practicing Anglo-Catholic and offered a small justification for Anglicans to read a book about continental Roman Catholicism. He wrote: “Anglicans in the 19th and 20th centuries, in both Great Britain and the United States, were surrounded by a philosophical... Read more

        FEAR & COURAGE & FAITH A Meditation on Politics and the Intimate Way   James Ishmael Ford   Finally. Finally. Apparently more than one child has been asking their parents all week, when are they going to be done watching “the map show” on television. And. My goodness it did seem like it took forever for that show to end. Waiting day after day from Tuesday to Saturday. Okay, for me, to be honest, actually, for... Read more

  Well, the election is at hand. Today the last votes will be cast to determine wether we continue along the path Mr Trump has been cutting. Or, whether we will return to that hesitant and bumpy march toward ever greater justice and care for all of us, which has been the hallmark of our liberal Democracy. It’s all pretty stark. And, if the polls are right, America’s choice will be Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Mr Biden speaks of... Read more

    Kathryn Dawn Lang was born on this day, the 2nd of November, in 1961. Probably she’s better known to us as k.d. lang. An award winning vocalist, said to have the range of mezzo-soprano, she is also a Buddhist, and did one of my favorite covers of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. I appreciate the excuse to share that song today. Hard times, as you may have noticed. It seems to me people sometimes misunderstand the song, thinking its about... Read more

    Out near where my mother in law lives there’s a church “All Saint’s Lutheran.” They also sport a directional sign for parking. It reads “This way for All Saints.” And appended under that, “And sinners, too…” It never fails to make me smile. And. Today is the feast of all saints. It the Western tradition it follows All Hallows eve and precedes the feast for All Souls. I think of each of these moments, and the various categories... Read more

    This morning I was listening to Tom Wardle, one of our Empty Moon Zen dharma teachers give the talk at our Saturday morning program. I was struck by several things. One was the clarity of his message, the review of what our practices are, what they are not, and how they help us to meet the moment. And, well, certainly timely words. This particular moment is three days from one of the more monumental national elections in our... Read more

  Abigail Adams died on this day, the 28th of October, 1818. In the Christian calendar remarkable people are often recalled on the anniversary of their death with a feast. I am slightly more inclined to recall people on their birthdays, that moment with so much that could happen waiting, pregnant in time. But there’s a lot to be said to mark out the end point, when all has been said and done. And with Abigail, we have a lot... Read more

    This is a turbulent moment in the history of our Republic, those of us who are American. And a troubling moment for all who watch from the outside. Interesting times, as the curse goes. And. The good folk at Wikipedia set today, the 27th of October in 312 as the moment when Constantine, later called the Great, purported to have a vision of a cross in the sky and heard the words “With this sign, conquer.” I’ve commented... Read more

HOW ARE WE FREE? Mo Weinhardt Empty Moon Zen   I’ve been thinking a lot about time, and how I experience time — particularly throughout this crazy year of 2020, but really throughout my entire life. And even though every person who has ever lived encounters it uniquely, our wildly fluctuating experience of time is a common denominator between all of us. I’ve been thinking about time in part because of the deep storage bins of family photos I’ve been... Read more

      A Meditation on What My Grandmother Taught Me First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles 18 November, 2020 James Ishmael Ford My father was a will-o’-the-wisp with more than a passing affection for the drink. In his life he never held steady employment. As a consequence, we were poor, sometimes desperately poor. And we moved a lot. Usually avoiding some trouble he’d fallen into. My small not exactly “joke” was that I was an adult before I knew... Read more