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 »
Quest April 2023
April 2023
Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning. —Gloria Steinem
Articles
Keep on Imagining
Suzelle and Brad have been pen pals for years. They wrote this exploration of imagination together. Read more »
UUA General Assembly – Pittsburgh – June 21-25, 2023
Would you like to represent the Church of the Larger Fellowship at General Assembly (GA) this summer? Read more »
Quest March 2023
March 2023
The best way out is always through. —Robert Frost
Articles
Persistence is a Group Activity
When Rev. Michael Tino reached out to me and asked me to reflect on persistence, I laughed and laughed. Read more »
Persistence
What is the value of persistence? When have you struggled with it, or felt its benefits? Read more »
A Class on Fear
The purpose of this class is to give the tools necessary to confront deeper issues based in fear. Read more »
Notice of the CLF Annual Meeting
To all members of the Church of the Larger Fellowship, Unitarian Universalist… Read more »
Quest February 2023
February 2023
Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born. —Anaïs Nin
Articles
A Space Where There Is No Other
“Where do we find that space of connecting, of belonging. Really, that space where there is no other.” — bell hooks Read more »
Friendship
How do you cultivate and sustain friendship? What role does friendship play in your life? Read more »
Embracing the Living Tradition
“We are writing this in pencil, not etching it in stone.” — from the Article II Study Commission Report 1/17/23 Read more »
untitled flowing thoughts
A little girl said to her make-believe best of friends: “Today, I shall light a white candle. Read more »
General Assembly
Would you like to represent the Church of the Larger Fellowship at General Assembly (GA) this summer? Read more »
Quest January 2023
January 2023
Nobody’s free until everybody’s free. —Fannie Lou Hamer
Articles
A Hard-Won Hopefulness: The Journey to Liberation
In 2019 the Rev. Bill Sinkford and the wonderful staff at First Unitarian Portland invited me to join them for “Seminary for a Day,” when we reflected together on how our inherited liberal tradition is accountable to the theological work of liberation. Read more »
Liberation
What does liberation mean to you? What does it feel like, and how do you access it? Read more »
The Learned Among Us
The following is adapted from a sermon that Aisha gave in CLF online worship on Nov. 6, 2022. A few years ago, I was having a conversation with a friend about learning to love myself fully, especially my body. Read more »
New CLF Member Database Includes a Donor Self-Service Portal: We Need Your Help to Migrate to a New System!
The Church of the Larger Fellowship is migrating our member and donation database. Our new system, called Church Center, allows you to see your history and make changes. Read more »
Quest December 2022
December 2022
Rest is a beautiful interruption in a world that has no pause button. —Tricia Hersey, The Nap Ministry
Articles
Practicing Rest
Did you know that there are 7 kinds of rest? Physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, social, sensory, and creative. Read more »
Even God Rested – A CLF Worship Service
Most Sunday evenings, members of the Church of the Larger Fellowship with internet access gather for an online worship service. Read more »
Quest November 2022
November 2022
We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community. —Dorothy Day
Articles
Breaking Our Hearts Open // Romper y Abrir Nuaestros Corazones
Our hearts break open for the pain of the world. Read more »
Community / Comunidad
Who makes up your community? What role does community play in your life? Read more »
The Strength of Community // La Fuerza de la Comunidad
In a recent conversation with other religious professionals at Liberal Religious Educators Association (LREDA) Fall Con—the annual conference for religious educators—Aisha Hauser, one of our CLF lead ministers, invited us to name what gives us joy and what sustains us in these difficult times that feel like a slow-moving apocalypse. Read more »
Remembering // Recordando
One of the annual events we recognize every November is the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR). Read more »
Quest October 2022
October 2022
“When you go in search of honey, you must expect to be stung by bees.” —Joseph Joubert
Articles
At the Water’s Edge
Down the cliffs to the black sand of the Pa’iloa beach, and right on the shore, was an opening. Read more »
tikkun olam
Most Sunday evenings, members of the Church of the Larger Fellowship with internet access gather for an online worship service. Read more »
Quest September 2022
September 2022
“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” —W.B. Yeats
Articles
A Theological Mandate of Liberation
The following sermon was originally given at the service to formally install our Lead Ministry Team in their role as ministers of the Church of the Larger Fellowship, which took place on June 25, 2022, during UUA General Assembly in Portland, OR. Read more »
Called and Installed, Your Lead Ministry Team
One of the spiritual joys a religious professional receives is their installation to the congregation to which they’ve been called. Read more »
The Rainbow
I was walking in the yard.. He looked like a mob enforcer — probably because he was.. Read more »
Spiritual Reflection Posts
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