I’ve just returned from a 5-day civil rights pilgrimage to Alabama and know I will be processing what I saw there for a long time. We visited Birmingham, Montgomery, and Selma, some of the key sites in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. I learned things I was never taught in school–in … Continue reading April 10, 2024 Minister’s Message
“Frequently in my practice, patients tell me that they often cry in private. I ask them whether they ever allow their grief to be witnessed and shared with others. There is usually a quick retort of “No, I couldn’t do that. I don’t want to be a burden to anyone else.” …We need to recover … Continue reading CFD Director’s Message 4.3.24
The House With a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs with illustrations by Edward Gorey. “The House With a Clock in Its Walls will cast its spell for a long time.”–The New York Times Book Review When Lewis Barnavelt, an orphan. comes to stay with his uncle Jonathan, he expects to meet an ordinary person. But … Continue reading Book Discussion Group
Despite the presence of several inches of snow in my yard as I write this, spring has officially arrived, and as is so often the case, this season feels to me as if it is full of energy and change. I have lots of plans for the next several months, and want to highlight a … Continue reading March 27, 2024 Minister’s Message
“Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they’re finished.”- Daniel Gilbert Have you ever heard of imaginal cells? Something we know about the mysterious, wonderful process of caterpillars moving through their chrysalis phase on their way to becoming butterflies is that these cells are necessary. They are a kind of blueprint. What is … Continue reading CFD Director’s Message 3.20.24
This last weekend, my spouse Shay and I went on a mini-retreat, just the two of us, to a rental cottage in northern Wisconsin, so rural that at night we could see incredible dark skies full of stars, a sight we miss, living in a city that never truly goes dark. The main purpose of … Continue reading March 13, 2024 Minister’s Message
“This I now know for certain: I do all of growing during the times in my life when I am offering compassion to the parts of myself that have not yet grown. I never once managed to shame myself into a version of me I loved more.” – Andrea Gibson When I was young, the … Continue reading CFD Director’s Message 3.13.24
This Sunday, I preached about the proposed revision to Article II of the Unitarian Universalist Association’s bylaws–the section that houses our principles, purposes, and sources. While my sermon touched on the process, I promised to make materials available to anyone interested in a deeper dive. Here are some links to explore: This is the main … Continue reading March 6, 2024 Minister’s Message
March is the month of Transformation! Here are some words that align with that theme: “There is something dying in our society, in our culture, and there’s something dying in us individually. And what is dying, I think, is the willingness to be in denial. And that is extraordinary. It’s always been happening, and when it happens in … Continue reading CFD Director’s Message 3.6.24
On Monday, it was 60 degrees and sunny, and my wife Shay and I took our dog Gus for a romp at a dog park. Yesterday, it snowed, and Gus came in from the back yard shivering. The weather this winter has confirmed what we already know: climate change is real, and the impact is … Continue reading February 28, 2024 Minister’s Message
