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 […]
by Rev. Jim Francek - Community Minister – Pastoral Care
A Minister’s Message – Mother Earth has a Dangerous Fever – June 29, 2021
On Earth Day this year, we were blessed with the reflections of Sr. Kathleen Deignan, an Eco-theologian from Iona College. She reviewed with us the fact that we are in the period of the sixth extinction of species on the earth. As we watch the daily news regarding the continuous break up of arctic ice […]
by Rev. Ed Thompson - Minister of Music
A Minister’s Message – Harmonizing with a Greater Power – June 22, 2021
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 […]
by Rev. Ed Thompson - Minister of Music
A Minister’s Message – Summer Solstice – May 11, 2021
On June 20th we are planning to have the Summer Solstice service/concert, as we do each year. This time we are focusing on circles, seasons, and spirals. Recently, I was listening to a lecture and the lecturer was making a distinction between “paradox” and “parallax.” Paradox is a statement that is seemingly contradictory. Parallax is […]
by Rev. Jim Francek - Community Minister – Pastoral Care
A Minister’s Message – Earth Day – April 23, 2021
As Unitarians we are blessed with the rich reflections of our elder, Ralph Waldo Emerson. He invites us to experience our call to transcendental unity with nature: “We live in succession, in division, in parts, in particles. Meantime within man is the soul of the whole; the wise silence; the universal beauty, to which every […]
by Rev. Dr. John T. Morehouse - Senior Minister
A Minister’s Message – A Life Unfolding – April 13, 2021
Quick clarification: I will be preaching on “We Become More” not this weekend, but Sunday April 25. This Sunday April 18 we are all looking forward to hearing Rev. Jim’s full service entitled “Wake to the Story of the Earth….” “The Earth does not belong to man; Man belongs to the earth!” (Chief Seattle). There […]
by Rev. Ed Thompson - Minister of Music
A Minister’s Message – Storm or Rain? – March 9, 2021
On Sunday, March 21, we are scheduled to have our annual Spring Concert/Service. This year’s theme is called, “The Will to Go On” or, in a word, endurance. One of the songs which the Children’s Choir will offer is called “Storm or Rain?” What a peculiar title. What’s this about? The song is based on […]
by Rev. Ed Thompson - Minister of Music
A Minister’s Message – Two Hymns, Same Melody – January 19, 2021
In our much-loved hymnal, Singing the Living Tradition, I couldn’t help but notice that the tune for #211, “We Are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder,” is the same for #212, “We Are Dancing Sarah’s Circle.” Mistake? Not at all. Here we have the concept of the masculine and feminine having equal representation. So, what are those differences? […]
by Rev. Ed Thompson - Minister of Music
A Minister’s Message – Why Give Thanks? – November 24, 2020
The more that we humans increase our awareness, the more that we need to make adjustments in the way we live and interact. At this time, I am thinking about Thanksgiving. The picture of the so-called first Thanksgiving, I am now aware, was a small pixel taken out of a very large picture. I don’t […]
by Rev. Jim Francek - Community Minister – Pastoral Care
A Minister’s Message – Experience a Pathway to Truth – October 27, 2020
“The point of experience is not to escape life but to live it. Each of us carries some wisdom waiting to be discovered at the center of our experience, and everything we meet, if faced and held, reveals a part of that wisdom. We have a language of truth growing in our heart that only […]
