Did You Know?
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You can keep up with the many online events that the CLF offers through our website calendar. Read more →
The Unbroken
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There is a brokenness
out of which comes the unbroken,
a shatteredness
out of which blooms the unshatterable. Read more →
Brokenness
March 2016
The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places. —Ernest Hemingway
Articles
Brave Love
Adorning almost every Protestant church is a cross—inside, outside, over the altar, in the vestibule, in the minister’s office, and sometimes many stories high on top of the building. Read more »
Try to Praise the Mutilated World
What must it have been like for folks living through World War I, 1914–1918? The horror of that war is still something I struggle to understand. Read more »
An Apology
In the January 2015 “Transformation” edition of Quest, I had a sermon titled “Transformation vs. Acceptance.” In that sermon I gave passing mention to Jane Rzepka for the concepts I was writing about. Read more »
Human Feelings of Brokenness
We often feel so alone and isolated in our very human feelings of brokenness. Read more »
Broken
Have you ever come to a place in your life where everything is broken? Not only that, but broken by you? Read more »
Midori and the E Strings
When Midori Goto was three years old her grandmother gave her a 1/16 violin for her birthday. Her mother and grandmother sensed that music was one of her gifts, and they were right. Read more »
From Your Minister
According to some folks, everything wrong in this world is because of one disobedient woman who listened to a snake. She just had to eat that apple, and then everything that was whole became broken. We were all doomed. Read more »
REsources for Living
One of the most important lesson we learn—and try to teach our kids—is that when something goes wrong or breaks, we need to take a deep breath and figure out how to fix it. Read more »
Did You Know?
You can keep up with the many online events that the CLF offers through our website calendar. Read more »
The Unbroken
There is a brokenness out of which comes the unbroken, a shatteredness out of which blooms the unshatterable. Read more »
Brokenness
“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.” —Ernest Hemingway Read more »
An Invitation Song
Here is a fun and lively song that’s perfect for getting excited about something new. Perhaps you could sing it in the morning, whether it’s the start of a new day–or the start of the weekend! The first verse says, “Enter, rejoice and come in!” This is a great invitation to extend to people, to ideas, and to new experiences.
What would you like to invite into your life? To whom will you extend a welcome today?
A House for All
You could argue whether Jane Addams was a Unitarian, since she regularly went to a Unitarian church, but never joined. But you can’t argue about whether she understood the true meaning of hospitality.
Jane Addams, social reformer (Library of Congress)
Jane grew up in a wealthy family, but when she discovered as a child that many poor people in the cities lived in terrible conditions, she wanted to make a difference. In 1889 she and Ellen Starr founded Hull House, a big house in Chicago which offered a place for the many poor recent immigrants in the city to take part in clubs, discussions, and activities, as we ll as take English and citizenship classes, and enjoy theater, music, and art classes.
About 25 people actually lived at Hull House, and Jane made sure that both wealthier people and poor immigrants lived there together, since she believed that people with different experiences could learn a lot from each other. Jane Addams and the other women who ran Hull House with her created an amazing space of hospitality where people could learn, grow and have fun together. In 1931 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Learning More Online:
To learn more about Hull House, and the visionary women who founded it, visit the National Women’s History Museum website. The Jane Addams-Hull House Museum today serves as a living legacy to Jane Addams and her vision of hospitality for all; learn more about their ongoing work at hullhousemuseum.org
The Fragile Art of Hospitality
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Mechthild of Magdeburg, a thirteenth-century mystic, once asked, “How shall we live?” Her answer provides a mantra of hospitality: “Be welcoming to all.” Read more →
Called to Hospitality
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What does it mean to a Unitarian Universalist to be called to hospitality? And what or who is calling us? Read more →
Welcoming What We Do Not Want
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It was a sunny spring day, and I was getting into my car in a sprawling parking lot when the phone rang. Read more →
The Guest House
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This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival. Read more →
