Pentecost

The Christian celebration of Pentecost marks the end of the Easter season, when the apostles were visited by the Holy Spirit, which appeared to them as tongues of fire. But perhaps the Holy Spirit sho

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"Spring from our consciences into action: mercy, freedom, ecology, hope!"

“Spring from our consciences into action: mercy, freedom, ecology, hope!” - Naomi King - Twitter: @revnaomi

UU unitarian universalist spring action chaliceout conscience

"Called by our promises, may we risk faithfully to fulfill them."

“Called by our promises, may we risk faithfully to fulfill them.” - Naomi King - Twitter: @revnaomi

UU unitarian universalist chalicelight risk faithful promises

"Chalicelight - Fire of the Spirit ignite in us the determination to keep making hope real."

“Chalicelight - Fire of the Spirit ignite in us the determination to keep making hope real.” - Naomi King - Twitter: @revnaomi

UU hope Spirit chalicelight unitarianuniversalist Pentecost fire determination

"The poor steamer foundered because it drifted…the man who has no aim higher than himself also..."

“The poor steamer foundered because it drifted…the man who has no aim higher than himself also drifts…Do not drift, but steer.” - James Freeman Clarke, Everyday Religion (1886) p.6 (Unitarian, clergy,

UU Unitarian purpose James Freeman Clarke calling

"Perfection is not reached by a sudden leap; nor hopeless wickedness by a sudden fall"

“Perfection is not reached by a sudden leap; nor hopeless wickedness by a sudden fall” - Marion D. Shutter, Justice and Mercy (1894) p.30 (Universalist, clergy, theologian)

UU Universalist Marion D. Shutter perfection wickedness

Unwanted Half-breed Immigrant Couldn’t Speak English—Shods a Nation

On May 19, 1885 Jan Ernst Matzeliger’s revolutionary Shoe Lasting Machine was introduced into production at a Lynn, Massachusetts factory.   Within a few years American production of factory made shoe

immigration Black History patent industrialization Jan Ernst Matzeliger invention Shoe lasting machine Dutch Guiana Creole Lynn Massachusetts

Morning Prayer May 20, 2013

Love, you sustain me when I change for the better and when I am less than how I am called. Hear my thanks. Help me reach to keep changing for the better, to answer your calling and my promises and fai

Religion

Evening Prayer May 20, 2013

Mercy, you call me to change when I am stony-hearted and you call me to change this world when it is fraught with pain and misunderstanding, cruelty and greed. Hear my worries about answering that cal

Religion

Everyone Loves To Hate The Tax Man

Face it, nobody likes the Tax Man, so it’s easy to lambast the Internal Revenue Service, which is just about as popular (but just as necessary) as a regular colonoscopy. Lately, the IRS has taken a hi

Maker Faire and lobsters

Carol and I went to Maker Faire today. It was held just a couple of miles away in San Mateo, so we were able to walk there — which was good, because so many people attended that some of the parking lo

Pop Culture DIY Chronicles

Unitarian Universalist Pentecost – Living into the Missional Shift

Tomorrow is Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost is celebrated in western Christianity as the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus fifty days after Easter.  The story is recounted in Acts 2:1-

Unitarian Universalism god unitarian universalist Christianity The Spiritual Life Jesus Missional Church HolySpirit Life on Fire Pentecost

carve...

carve (v.) Old English ceorfan (class III strong verb; past tense cearf, past participle corfen) "to cut, cut down, slay; to carve, cut out, engrave," from West Germanic *kerfan (cf. Old Frisian kerva

​Truth and Meaning: Cleverness

​Truth and Meaning: Cleverness We Americans consider ourselves a clever people. We equate education with knowledge and privilege with power. These are both false assumptions. True wisdom doesn’t come

"Chaliceout - Fire of Hope spark a new joy in the hearts of the discouraged, renewed hope for us all."

“Chaliceout - Fire of Hope spark a new joy in the hearts of the discouraged, renewed hope for us all.” - Naomi King - Twitter: @revnaomi

UU hope joy chaliceout unitarianuniversalist

The Kochs' pet coke

Your pets are charming, I'm sure, but the Koch brothers' "petcoke" not so much. Rather like an unwelcome black mound in the backyard, or a steaming heap alongside the Detroit River. Hello Alberta tar

How seminaries and the ordination process leave theologically “liberal” Christians behind

There’s a new article in the Washington Post about seminary graduates who don’t plan to enter ministry. According to the write-up, “About 41 percent of master’s of divinity graduates expect to […]

Written Reflections

"Risk must be evaluated not by the fear it generates in you or the probability of your success, but..."

“Risk must be evaluated not by the fear it generates in you or the probability of your success, but by the value of the goal.” - John C. Maxwell, Failing Forward p.123

goal risk John C. Maxwell

Canada’s 25,495 Pagans (and 7.8 Million ‘Nones’)

On May 8th data from Canada’s 2011 National Household Survey was released, including data on religion. The big headline from this data is that people claiming no specific religion, often called “nones

Paganism Religion Buddhism Nones canada Wicca Aboriginal spirituality census Hinduism National Household Survey

Sand Castle

Sand sculptors put hours of work and a lifetime of craft into building elaborate structures that will soon be obliterated by wind and water. It seems foolish, but then many castles built of stone have

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