Quest March 2024
March 2024
“Pluralism accepts the moral reality of different kinds of truth, but rejects the idea that they can all be placed on a single scale, measured by a single value.” —Timothy Snyder
Articles
Embracing Pluralism
When my daughter was nine years old, she asked me which religion was the “right one.” Read more »
Chaos and Concord
Chaos and Concord battle in the collective mind. Chaos whispers to every tribe, religion, and race Read more »
Love Demands A Permanent Ceasefire Now
Recently, several people have taken the time to write to us about the ways in which we talk about Israel and Gaza, especially on our weekly talk show, Voices of Unitarian Universalism (aka The VUU). I thought that our wider community would be interested in my response. Read more »
Notice of the CLF Annual Meeting
Per Article VII, Sections 1 and 2, of the Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF) Bylaws, the 51st Annual Meeting will be held via video/telephone conference call and screen sharing on Sunday, June 16, 2024 at 6:45PM EDT/3:45PM PDT. Read more »
Quest February 2024
February 2024
“All have their worth and each contributes to the worth of the others.” —J.R.R. Tolkien
Articles
Our Place in the Web
Interdependence has been a central concept to our Unitarian Universalist faith since our current principles were adopted in 1985, and yet, too often Unitarian Universalists have focused on the implications this has for our relationship with the natural world around us, without understanding that we, too, are part of that web. Read more »
Thoughts on Love and Compassion
Love is the wish for all human beings to have happiness. Compassion is the wish for all human beings to be free of suffering and what causes suffering. Read more »
Would you like to represent the Church of the Larger Fellowship at General Assembly?
General Assembly (GA) is the annual gathering of UUs from churches across the country to worship together, learn together and make decisions about how we run the association of congregations, and what we stand for as an association of congregations. Read more »
Quest January 2024
January 2024
“Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.” —Maya Angelou
Articles
When Love is the Strength You Need
Recently a Young Adult Unitarian Universalist I know asked me “I know Love is at the center of our faith but how the hell am I supposed to love my oppressor?!” Read more »
This Trans Heart
Desperate and alone, this trans heart has been, forever seeking its needs in places bereft of such things. Read more »
Love at the Center: Exploring the New UU Values
If you’ve been tracking the next 6 months of Quest themes, you may have noticed something: we’re using these themes to explore the Values of Unitarian Universalism, as articulated in the proposed new Article II of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Bylaws. Read more »
Quest December 2023
December 2023
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” —Maya Angelou
Articles
Turn the Year Around (A Winter Solstice Story)
When the world was very young, there were not yet any seasons. There were not even any days — the Sun and the Moon shared the sky in harmony, quietly watching over the world together. Read more »
The Power of Story in Transformation
In the quiet moments of reflection, I find myself thinking about my own life story, each page revealing moments of growth, resilience, and transformation. Read more »
Storytelling & Stories that Shape Us
What are the stories that shape you? What role does storytelling play in your life? Read more »
Convict Chronicles: the stories that save us
“Corners,” my newest celly, is middle-aged and polite — the sort of man who carries the normal toil of the world. Read more »
Quest November 2023
November 2023
“I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.” —Nelson Mandela
Articles
Sin? I’m Against It.
There is a famous joke about early-20th century U.S. President Calvin Coolidge, who was known as a person of few words. Read more »
Brothers of Healing
“Brothers of Healing” is an original song written by CLF member Maverik Storm. Maverik wrote this about the piece: “I hope this can be an anthem for those who are healing, who know brokenness, and those who are committed to advocating for change. I hope that if this song reaches the hearts, minds, and voices of ...Read more »
The Strength of Community
The Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF) is a great community of communities made up of people connected and committed to reminding each other that we are more together, that we can take turns at the resistance, that cultivating and growing communal joy is part of what helps us stay stronger and focused on the ...Read more »
Quest October 2023
October 2023
“The songs of our ancestors are also the songs of our children.” —Philip Carr-Gomm
Articles
Honoring Our Ancestors
Altars, places to honor our ancestors along with displays of that which we experience as sacred, were never part of my upbringing. Read more »
Ancestors
What is your relationship with your ancestors like? What shapes that relationship for you? Read more »
“There once was a child”
There once was a child who found herself standin’ at the edge of time, life she thought—could be so cold and cruel; but then there were brief moments when it could be so sublime. Read more »
Samhain (Learning to Hold Ancestors Close)
In the almost seven months since my beloved mother’s death, I have needed to learn the world all over again. Every seasonal shift, every holiday and tradition lands differently now; every detail of the world exists only in relationship with my grief. Read more »
Quest September 2023
September 2023
“Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.” —Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Articles
Embracing Repair
In a world marked by imperfections and the passage of time, the concept of repair takes on a profound significance. Read more »
Repair
What does repair look and feel like to you? Have you experienced significant moments of repair in your relationship with yourself or others? Read more »
Writing My Wrongs
There is nothing exactly like living in Hell, but there is something close to it: jail and prison. Read more »
Updates from the CLF’s 2023 Annual Meeting
The CLF held its Annual Congregational Meeting on Sunday June 11, 2023. Read more »
Quest for Seekers – July/August 2023
July/August 2023
As a Unitarian Universalist congregation with no geographical boundary, we create global spiritual community, rooted in profound love, which cultivates wonder, imagination, and the courage to act. —Church of the Larger Fellowship Mission Statement
Articles
Intro to the Special Edition: Quest for Seekers
Welcome! Welcome to Quest, welcome to the Church of the Larger Fellowship, and welcome to Unitarian Universalism. This is a special issue of Quest meant specifically for those who are new to the Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF) and Unitarian Universalism, and want to learn more about both. Read more »
Unitarian Universalist Principles & Values
Our Unitarian Universalist faith is bound by covenant — the sacred promises we make to one another — instead of by creed or dogma. Read more »
The History of the CLF
The following graphic traces the history of the Church of the Larger Fellowship from the first Unitarian “Post Office Missions” in the 1800s, through to the present day. To view a larger version of this visual timeline, click on the image below, or on this link. Read more »
Our Flaming Chalice: History & Current Use
In the 1940s, as the German army began to impose its totalitarianism across Europe, many people fled in fear of their lives. Read more »
10 things to know about Unitarian Universalism
Despite the theological diversity within Unitarian Universalism, there are many things that we agree on and hold sacred within our communities. Read more »
Our Theological Mandate for Liberation
Christina delivered the following sermon during a worship service titled “Liberation, Incarceration, and Our Faith,” at General Assembly 2023. Read more »
From Our Members
We love hearing from members and friends of the Church of the Larger Fellowship about what our church community and the wider world of Unitarian Universalism mean to them. Read more »
The CLF: A Teaching Congregation
The Church of the Larger Fellowship is a teaching congregation. Each year, we welcome intern ministers to our staff and community, they serve our church for a two-year fellowship. Read more »
Quest June 2023
June 2023
Look on every exit as being an entrance somewhere else. —Tom Stoppard
Articles
Navigating Transition
The months of May and June often bring transitions related to academic promotions, graduations, and other milestones related to the culmination of years of dedication and hard work. Read more »
Transition
How do you relate to transition? What role has transition played in your life? Read more »
Rethinking the Transition Out of Prison
“Transition” has become a byword in the corrections field over recent years. It has come to encompass classes bearing such fanciful titles as “Thinking For A Change,” “Crossroads,” “Men In Transition” and “Ethical Choices.” Read more »
The Gift of a Sensitized Soul
My experience has taught me that many adults who seek a new spiritual connection have, like myself, been particularly sensitized to the suffering of the world. Maybe some people have been taught to be sensitive in this way. Read more »
Beyond the “End”
Do you believe in heaven? Then there is no end. Do you believe in hell? Then there is no end. Read more »
Quest May 2023
May 2023
Wonder is the beginning of wisdom. —Socrates
Articles
What A Wonder-Full World
Often, when people find out that I was a scientist before becoming a minister, they make assumptions about how my brain works, or about how I must see the world. Read more »
Article II Reflections
In a recent Quest article titled “Embracing the Living Tradition,” Rev. Dr. Michael Tino shared more about the work of the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Article II Study Commission, and the changes they are proposing to our Association’s Bylaws. Read more »
Gratitude
Prison life has beaten the hell out of me. It has helped me to learn not to be hardheaded, when God is trying to teach me something. For these lessons, I thank God. Read more »
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