From Your Minister
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In the dream, I am alone in a round stone tower. I do not want to be there, but I am trapped in its dark, damp, cold, airless space. And then, almost in a whisper, comes a soft voice, “Keep looking…there is a door.…” And suddenly the door is there. I can see light, I can walk out. I am not trapped anymore.
Thank You!
The CLF applauds the vision of the members of the congregations listed below. We are deeply thankful that they have chosen to hold special collections during their services to benefit the CLF’s Prison Ministry. If your bricks and mortar congregation holds special collections, we hope you will consider joining them in supporting this life-changing ministry.
East Shore UU Church
Eliot Unitarian Chapel
First Unitarian Church of Oakland
First Unitarian Church, Omaha
First Unitarian Church, Portland
First Unitarian Church, Rochester
First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis
First Universalist Church of Denver
First Universalist Church, Minneapolis
Fox Valley UU Fellowship, Inc.
Main Line Unitarian Church
Maumee Valley UU Congregation
Rogue Valley UU Fellowship
Unity Church Unitarian of St. Paul
UU Church of Reading
UU Congregation of Atlanta
UU Congregation of Marin
UU Fellowship of Ames
UU Fellowship of Central Oregon
UUs of Clearwater FL, Inc.
West Shore UU Church
On Living (Part I)
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Living is no laughing matter:
you must live with great seriousness
like a squirrel, for example— Read more →
Finding Life in the Land of Death
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If I were trying to develop and deliver a talk about the history of Unitarian Universalist opposition to war and war-making institutions, I could have hammered this out and gone right back to dipping peppermint Jo Jo’s in milk and watching Dr. Who on Netflix. I mean, we are UUs: we don’t blindly obey, we question. We don’t use our hands to hurt, we use our hands to create and heal. We don’t seek and destroy, we search and explore. We only march if we’re carrying tubas or protest signs, and our hair and habits of dress are very far out of regulation. Unitarian is to Military as Peace is to Conflict, as Compassion is to Aggression, as Eros is to Thanatos. But that wasn’t the task my minister gave me.
Dancing into the Heart of God
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Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi was born in 1207 in Afghanistan, which was then within the Persian empire. While still a child he fled to Turkey, along with his whole family, when the Mongols invaded their land. Read more →
Annual Meeting
The CLF Annual Meeting will be held on June 27, 2013 at 6:00PM Eastern Time
From Your Minister
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Before rebirth, there has to be birth. I have never given birth, but I have been privileged to witness two human babies, six puppies, three kittens, and a few birds and turtles enter the world. And I suspect all of us have watched documentaries of the same kinds of thing.
REsources for Living
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Perhaps you have seen the bumper sticker: “Born OK the first time.” That’s where we UUs tend to come down. You don’t need to be born again. We don’t hold with the notion of original sin, that babies are born carrying the sin of Adam and Eve’s rebellion. You don’t need to be baptized or washed in the blood of the Lamb or answer an altar call or accept anyone or anything as your personal lord and savior. We’re willing to trust that who you are is OK, at the same time that we hope that as a community we are learning to be ever more responsible, compassionate people.
In My Own Worst Season
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In my own worst seasons I’ve come back from the colorless world of despair by forcing myself to look hard, for a long time, at a single glorious thing: a flame of red geranium outside my bedroom window. Read more →
The Adventure of Creativity
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Many years ago I was working very late one Saturday night on a sermon. This particular sermon was about the mythological Jesus. The main point of the sermon was that I really don’t care whether there is a shred of historical truth in the story of Jesus. What I care about is that it’s a good story, and it contains truths about life—about how to live my life.
