As many of you know, one of my favorite blogs is On Being Both by Susan Katz Miller. Â In her writings, Katz Miller discusses life within an interfaith family, something familiar to many First Parish members. Â This week she writes about handling the intersection of Passover and Easter this year when the two important holidays [read more...]
I want to introduce all of you to Dr. Eboo Patel. Â His book, Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation, is the Unitarian Universalist Association’s 2011-2012 Common Read. Â He’s also authored a short article in this month’s UU World Magazine entitled “If we don’t invest [read more...]
I wanted to share this guided meditation with you all. Â Whether you read it silently to yourself, or you choose to share it with family or friends – perhaps as opening words at a meeting or group – I hope you find a sense of peace within these words by Emmy Lou Belcher. Â Â [read more...]
At my home, Black History Month serves as a reminder to me and my spouse to take particular stock of the presence of African-American cultural representation in our household. As two white men, raising a child who is white and African-American, we work hard to make sure that our home reflects our shared cultural histories [read more...]
Although many of us appreciate the lack of a creed in Unitarian Universalism, we do turn toward our 7 Principles for guidance and for a common sense of purpose with our fellow UUs. Â Much of the social action work we do, our RE classes, words and actions from the pulpit and in worship all refer [read more...]
Written by April, age 10, Georgia… Peace is everything to me. It’s the things I hear and the things I see. It’s the evening birds and their chirping sounds, And they can be heard all around. It’s as calm as the evening breeze. I love the rivers that flow and the great green trees. Peace [read more...]
I was driving my 5-year-old son, Bryce home from school yesterday when he said to me, “Papa, you and Dad aren’t really married, are you?” “Why do you ask that?” I responded. “Because boys can’t marry boys,” was the confident, although clearly sad answer. Although I tried in vain to figure out exactly where Bryce [read more...]
On a recent entry to the blog, Zen Habits, Leo Babauta asks, “How do you improve your life and find happiness when you’re a teen-ager, and can’t control much of your life?”  He then takes readers through an exercise in seeing challenging moments as opportunities… opportunities to practice patience, opportunities to practice empathy, and opportunities [read more...]
These words by Thoreau remind me to slow down over the holiday season and to take true stock of the deep and glorious world around us, “Why should we live in such a hurry and waste of life? We are determined to be starved before we are hungry. I wish to live deliberately, to front [read more...]
A Good Book As you no doubt know, one of the standard tools of religious educators is the ubiquitous “story for all ages” that we read during multigenerational services. While this sometimes seems like nothing more than entertainment designed to focus the elusive attention of children, it has potential far surpassing that one goal. Stories, [read more...]
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