This Sunday, February 26, we will feature some jazz selections at the morning service. One of those pieces is called “Break Not the Circle” with words by Fred Kaan (1929 – 2009). In the third verse Mr. Kaan says: “Join the movement of the love that frees, ‘till people of whatever race or nation will […]

A while back someone gifted me with The New Yorker Book of Art Cartoons. I am looking at the one where a husband and wife are breathlessly rushing through the door of an art museum. They look at the guard and the husband says: “Which way to the Mona Lisa? We’re doubled-parked!” While it is […]

One day last week I came across a quotation that has stayed with me. “All great spirituality is about what we do with our pain.” This was penned by Richard Rohr in a book called Adam’s Return. It got me thinking about the various options: hiding our pain; denying our pain; projecting our pain; wallowing […]

A few days ago we celebrated the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. It is interesting that his namesake, Martin Luther (1483-1546), was a theologian, priest, poet and musician. Above all we remember him as the great reformer who struggled against the religious corruption of his era. His most famous musical piece, which most denominations […]

One of the songs that the choir will sing for the Holiday Concert is “Touch Hands.” The music was written Minnesota composer Abbie Burt Betinis. She based the piece on a poem of W. H. H. Murray. It goes like this: Ah friends, dear friends, as years go on and heads get gray, how fast […]

The Soul Matters theme for the month of November is “Holding History.” Of course, one must ask: whose history? Over the course of the last year, I have observed that everything from the earth’s history, to cultural history, to personal history, has shifted. Let me be a bit more expansive. In very recent times I […]

As the church year draws to a close I find myself reflecting back on it. Nothing about this ‘season’ has been normal. I believe that we, as a spiritual community, have been changed as a result. While so much of our attention has been focused on the pandemic/health issues, many other things happened simultaneously. So […]