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.
I love the phrase “praying with our feet.” It often comes to mind for me in protests at the Texas Capitol, when I wait in line to vote, and perhaps most especially every Friday, when I lead my Zumba class, where we pray with our arms, our hips, our everything.
“Every disaster movie starts with the government ignoring a scientist” — social media meme, unknown origin
About eight years ago I started a meditation practice of drawing or doodling that I call “inklings” —as it gives glimpses both inward into one’s self and outward into connection with others, the earth, or the great unknown.
Once upon a time I rejected the concept of surrender without hesitation or investigation Would not even risk thinking it (surrender, indeed!) and yet…
The Church of the Larger Fellowship is comprised of over 2500 individuals serving Unitarian Universalism—half of whom are currently incarcerated.
In a congregation I once served was a man who’d been there many years—not a noisy person, but one who was pretty loud in his dislike of silence in the Sunday service.
Silence is the tool that brings us back from fragmentation into wholeness.
Three sanctuaries of silence come to mind as I think about creating more space for silence in my life.
The day Gerry and I moved to Neenah from Milwaukee was a long, exhausting one.
When I was a child I used to fear the silence. One of the tortures I endured was being thrown into a small closet with no light, and being left there for days at a time.
Where I live, December marks the beginning of winter. And in the Hudson Valley of New York, those winters are often cold, silent, and dark.
During my first year living in Seattle, I heard a news report of a woman being arrested for throwing a frozen chicken out her apartment in the middle of a crowd of runners in a 5K race.
As we head into the depths of winter I am always reminded of that in other parts of the world, people are experiencing the height of summer.
Let all mortal flesh keep silence…begins an ancient hymn that is still a popular Christmas carol.
Close to 20 years ago Rev. Jane Rzepka invited me to join the CLF team as the editor of Quest.
You can listen to audio recordings of Quest Monthly, read back issues or get electronic versions of the text to share with friends (and much more) at questformeaning.org
You, silence, are the ground on which we build the fragile sandcastles of our every spoken word.
Working at Greensboro Health Care Center, a nursing home, was a rewarding experience for me in many ways.
In Lewis Carrol’s Alice Through the Looking Glass, Alice is talking with the White Queen, who lives in a backwards world where effects happen before their cause.
Jay Elijah Culkin
these are great
No Face
Thank you so much for this!