Spirit/Soul
June 2017
Stop acting so small. You are the Universe in ecstatic motion. —Rumi
Articles
The Soul of the Whole
It seems to me we speak all the time and all at once of two kinds of spiritual integrity, two ways of being deeply, liberally, religious—one looking inward, one looking outward. Read more »
Soul
Not that transparent self tucked under my skin… one day to be set free by my death that it might fly. Read more »
The Movement of the Spirit
Have you ever had a spiritual experience, a sense of movement of the spirit? A flash in time when your appreciation for the world was so complete, so perfect, that you were transfixed and transformed? Read more »
REsources for Living
There are a whole lot of words from poets and preachers and wise folks of various types that have changed how I understand the world, but there’s one quote that has maybe shaped what I’ve done with my life more than any other. Read more »
From Your Minister
“I love seeing that you’re entertaining earth spirits in the yard,” the man said to me, bending his head so that his tall frame could fit through my front door. Read more »
Gardeners of the Spirit
Help us be the always hopeful gardeners of the spirit who know that without darkness nothing comes to birth as without light nothing flowers. Read more »
Did You Know?
…that you can listen to podcasts not only of Quest Monthly, but also of our talk show The VUU? Read more »
Within Us
We live in succession, in division, in parts, in particles. Meantime within is the soul of the whole; the wise silence; the universal beauty, to which every part and particle is equally related, the eternal ONE. Read more »
Money
May 2017
“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” —Henry David Thoreau
Articles
Money, Money, Money
At age 10 or 11 I was just beginning to understand more about how the world works, about morals and ethics and my own agency. I was waking up to my ability to make choices about all kinds of things. Read more »
The Values of Money
I grew up poor, although I didn’t think we were. We always had food. My dad drove a car. Read more »
Five Dollars is Five Dollars
I want to tell you a story about a little boy who got up from the table where his older brother and mom sat, to go back to his room. Read more »
Your Money and Your Life
Money is often a source of shame for both those without it and those who have it. Read more »
Be The Light
Help us be the always hopeful gardeners of the spirit who know that without darkness nothing comes to birth, as without light nothing flowers. Read more »
From Your Minister
The word economics comes from a Greek word meaning household management, something I’ve done a lot of in my life. So you’d think I’d have a knack for it. Read more »
REsources for Living
I was amused when my 18-year-old daughter, newly hired at an upscale mall shop during the Christmas rush, reported on how her work was going. “I can’t believe,” she said, “the amount of money that people are willing to spend on soap! Read more »
Did You Know?
…that you can give graduating seniors a gift of Quest Monthly, so that UUism can go with them to college? Click here to learn more. Read more »
The People of the Earth Go Down
The people of the earth go down, Each with his wealth of dream… Read more »
Money
“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” —Henry David Thoreau Read more »
Creativity
April 2017
Creativity is piercing the mundane to find the marvelous. —Bill Moyers
Articles
Creativity, Art and Failure
Neil Gaiman, who is a writer and creator of many things, gave a commencement speech that was later published as a book. Read more »
We Journey Together
We journey together in a way that we believe is best for supporting an individual’s growth in the community. Read more »
The Creative Spirit
My son is in kindergarten. Every morning before we leave for school, I check his backpack for the essentials… Read more »
Pure Imagination
We each were born with the powers of creativity. While we’re not all going to be famous artists or poets or musicians, we each have the faculties to use our imagination to create. Read more »
The Spirit of Creativity
While I believe it is true that no one can take your creativity away from you, there are those who sure try. Read more »
From Your Minister
Years ago, a therapist told me that people would rather feel absolutely anything besides helplessness. Read more »
Notice of Annual Meeting
To all members of the Church of the Larger Fellowship, Unitarian Universalist… Read more »
REsources for Living
Many, many years ago I visited the palm reader’s booth at a Renaissance Faire. The palm reader studied my hand for a minute or two, and then pronounced: “You have a lot of creative energy.” Read more »
Did You Know?
…that the CLF has its own talk show? Catch The VUU Thursday mornings on YouTube live, or watch the archived version on YouTube at your convenience. Read more »
Your House
Your house has 1000 rooms… Every closet, drawer, cupboard… box and bin… opens up onto another world… Read more »
Covenant
March 2017
Blessed is the covenant of love, the covenant of mercy… deathless song in the house of night. —Leonard Cohen
Articles
Thus Do We Covenant…
A number of years ago, I was the guest preacher at one of our small congregations in northern New England. Read more »
The Covenants We Keep
My seminary classmate was 30 years older than me. I sat in his small apartment, hoping for the kind of wisdom and guidance I had already come to know he might provide. Read more »
For All Those Who Seek Help
Our liberal religious covenant… is to trust one another enough… to seek help when we’re down and to offer assistance when we’re able. Read more »
Bound in Covenant (Excerpt)
A covenant is not a contract. It is not made and signed and sealed once and for all, sent to the attorneys for safekeeping or guarded under glass in a museum. Read more »
In the Presence of God and One Another (Excerpt)
We are being invited into a place where we move from an idea to an experience. Read more »
From Your Guest Minister
I often wonder if there is much more going on with free will than meets the eye, especially when it comes to finding and joining a spiritual community. Read more »
REsources for Living
I’ve been going lately to choir rehearsals in a classroom at a school for the arts, so I’ve had a chance to read the posters on the front wall. Read more »
Did You Know?
…that you can read blog posts from UUs, including CLF ministers Meg Riley and Lynn Ungar ? Read more »
City Upon a Hill
Now the onely way to avoyde this shipwracke, and to provide for our posterity, is to followe the counsell of Micah, to doe justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God. Read more »
Covenant
Blessed is the covenant of love, the covenant of mercy… deathless song in the house of night. —Leonard Cohen Read more »
Embodiment
February 2017
If anything is sacred, the human body is sacred. —Walt Whitman
Articles
Rise in Body or in Spirit
It was never my goal to become an elder. Over the years I have looked at older men, older than I am, and thought: Someday that might be me. Read more »
Uses of the Erotic
You run into interesting conundrums in church life. For instance, in planning readings for a Valentine’s Day service that honors the erotic, you find that it’s not at all hard to locate some pretty great erotic poems; it’s just a challenge to come up with ones that you can read aloud in church. Read more »
The Least Embodied Church
The CLF is perhaps the least embodied church you will ever find. Read more »
From Your Minister
I’ve always thought that God the Father had a really sick relationship with Mother Earth. Read more »
Biscuits and Star Stuff
“Mama,” said Quinn. “What’s up?” Mama asked. She could see the sun shining on the top of Quinn’s curly hair. She measured another spoonful of mayonnaise into the bowl. Mama was making drop biscuits. Read more »
The CLF Invites GA Delegates
Would you like to represent the Church of the Larger Fellowship at General Assembly (GA) this summer? Read more »
Did You Know?
Did you know that you can listen to Quest Monthly or read (and share) it online? Read more »
Change
January 2017
Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are. —Bertolt Brecht
Articles
Transitions, Expected and Unexpected
Reading #655 in our hymnal, Singing the Living Tradition, is entitled, “Change Alone is Unchanging.” It’s attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher Heraklietos, also known as the weeping philosopher. Read more »
Making Change
Did you know that prisoners now make up more than 20% of the CLF’s membership? Read more »
Moving with Change
Being religiously savvy Unitarian Universalists, most of you probably know that one of the core teachings of Buddhism is impermanence. Read more »
From Your Minister
Here’s how I wish change happened: Change says to The Universe, Hey, I’d like to happen now! And The Universe replies, with ease and joy, That’s terrific! Happen, then! Read more »
REsources for Living
I can’t claim that I’m a big fan of change. I like comfort. I like knowing what to expect. Read more »
Help Wanted:
CLF Pen Pals for some of the 725 CLF members in prisons who are new to Unitarian Universalism. Read more »
Did You Know?
…that you can sign up for CLF online classes to stretch your mind and spirit? Read more »
Wave Driven by Wave
As wave is driven by wave… And each, pursued, pursues the wave ahead… Read more »
Change
Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are. —Bertolt Brecht Read more »
Waiting
PHOTO CREDIT: “Water Protectors in prayer on the frontline at the Backwater Bridge, November 20, 2016” by Rob Wilson, used with permission.
December 2016
Patience is not simply the ability to wait—it’s how we behave while we’re waiting. —Joyce Meyer
Articles
Sweet Anticipation
I had the exquisite experience recently of being in the midst of a community of hope. Read more »
Impatient with Waiting
Because of advances in technology, our world literally moves faster than ever. Read more »
We Needn’t Fear the Darkness
We rail against the darkness, light our fires, dance and shout. And yet… Read more »
A Litany of Waiting
Waiting for the bus. Waiting for the next election. Waiting for Christmas. Read more »
What Are You Waiting For?
In his well-known poem “If,” Rudyard Kipling states: “If you can wait and not be tired by waiting.…” Read more »
From Your Minister
We are so often waiting for something to happen—waiting for appointments, waiting on hold for customer assistance, waiting in line, waiting for approval, waiting for an apology, waiting for a specific date or event! Read more »
REsources for Living
Rachel went outside and looked up at the sky—again. Had the sun gotten any lower in the trees? It was hard to tell. Read more »
Did You Know?
…that the CLF is hoping to send holiday cards to our more than 700 prisoner members? You can help. Read more »
Another Kind of Knowledge
Prepare the way to welcome your inner Christ child—the being of love and light, the spark of holiness that lies deep in us all. Read more »
Waiting
Patience is not simply the ability to wait—it’s how we behave while we’re waiting. —Joyce Meyer Read more »
Prayer
November 2016
In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart. —Mahatma Gandhi
Articles
Prayer
In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart. —Mahatma Gandhi Read more »
A Thousand Ways to Pray
Early in my ministry career I interned as a religious studies teacher at Milton Academy, a prep school in New England. Read more »
Nominating Committee Seeks Leaders
The CLF’s Nominating Committee seeks members to run for positions on the Board of Directors beginning June 2017. Read more »
Prayer
I pray every day—more than once most days. I’ll be completely frank and admit that I am not quite sure who or what I direct these prayers to, but that’s okay with me. Read more »
We Open Many Doors
At the CLF we open many doors to the quiet voice within—and we cannot keep those doors open without your support. Read more »
ACTS Prayer: A Unitarian-Universalist Guide
Most religious traditions embrace some form of prayer as a part of meaningful spiritual practice. Read more »
From Your Minister
As I reflect on this month’s theme of prayer, scraps of poems and songs I love dance before me. Read more »
REsources for Living
I didn’t learn a whole lot about prayer growing up in a UU church in the 60s and 70s. Read more »
Did You Know?
…that the CLF is hoping to send holiday cards to our more than 700 prisoner members? You can help. Read more »
Prayer in a Time of Awe
Holy grandparents of the Universe…energies of creation…endless mysteries of life: You are the music that sounded before our world was born… Read more »
Belonging
October 2016
Perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition. —James Baldwin
Articles
You Belong Here
If you are reading this, you belong here!!! Did you know you can belong at the CLF as a member and also be a member at a bricks and mortar congregation? Read more »
Why Belong?
I wanted to start this sermon by saying I am no good at joining, by proclaiming, I don’t follow the crowd! I am an individual! Read more »
My Tribe
When I say I have found my tribe what I mean is that I have found a community of people I enjoy sharing Earth with. Read more »
A Letter to a Cousin
I had a bit of an epiphany the other day. Let me ask you a question. Read more »
REsources for Living
There are certain Big Questions that all of us deal with across the span of our lives. The answers may very well change over time, but our spiritual journeys are built around how we answer those questions. Read more »
Did You Know?
…that you can expand your sense of belonging to the CLF through connecting with other CLFers in conversation on Facebook? Read more »
Belonging
When I was released from prison the first time, I had been away from society and my family for ten years. Read more »
Belonging
“Perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition.” —James Baldwin Read more »
Beginnings
September 2016
Nourish beginnings… Not all things are blest, but the seeds of all things are blest. The blessing is in the seed. —Muriel Rukeyser
Articles
Beginnings
“Nourish beginnings… Not all things are blest, but the seeds of all things are blest. The blessing is in the seed.” —Muriel Rukeyser Read more »
On the First Day
Humans invent a lot of words to try to capture a bigness so large that we can’t fathom it. Read more »
Beginning Again
It was 1999, with all its cosmological portent—the coming of a new century, a new millennium. Read more »
To Be What You Might Have Been
Darwin published On the Origin of Species at age 50. Colonel Sanders started Kentucky Fried Chicken with his first Social Security check. Read more »
Starting Over…and Over…and Over (Excerpt)
Each of us, at one time or another, has had the experience of starting over. Read more »
Beginnings
I have a celly who says he’s going to procrastinate later. Then he laughs and we both smile. Read more »
From Your Minister
At one of the garage sales I love to frequent I picked up a game called “Origins” with a subtitle—“The Game that Unlocks the Secret of Our Past.” Read more »
REsources for Living
Call me old-fashioned, but in my mind September always means the start of the school year. Read more »
Growing Our Commitment
At the CLF we have steadily grown our commitment to being a public voice for justice and living out our UU values in the world. Read more »
The Legacy of Caring
Despair is my private pain… Born from what I have failed to say… failed to do… failed to overcome. Read more »
Issues
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