Dear Friends, Here is a link to the message I wanted you to hear on January 8. Technology was not our friend that morning. Hoping there is something good for you here. https://youtu.be/HX_-R0ReGZ8 I am on the mend and getting slowly back to work. Blessings and warm wishes, Rev. Rita
Dear Friends, With Advent, Solstice, Hannukah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa, this time of year has been called the Season of Light. Light, of course, is only half the story. In our neck of the woods, this is also the season of darkness and cold, a season that calls us inside to places of warmth and rest. … Continue reading December 21, 2022 Minister’s Message
Dear Friends, The days are darkening further, a time to turn inward to reflection and quiet, a time of active waiting for the gifts of the darkness and the gifts of the coming light. Yule is next week, the shortest day of the year on the Northern Hemisphere. And every day, the sun rises and … Continue reading December 14, 2022
Dear Friends, I am grateful today for these words of wonder from Thich Nhat Hanh in his The Art of Living: “Spirituality is not religion. It is a path for us to generate happiness, understanding, and love, so we can live deeply each moment of our life. Having a spiritual dimension in our lives does not … Continue reading December 7, 2022
Dear Friends, It’s our last day with the Soul Matters theme of “Change.” And the concept of change will linger on, both a description of our lives—especially after a death or a diagnosis or birth or a marriage or engagement—an inevitable condition of it. “Seasons change and so did I.” Change will come, as that … Continue reading November 30, 2022
Dear Friends, I used to dread the snow and cold. I brought that attitude with me from Buffalo, NY. And in the words of the 1970s rock band, Guess Who, “Seasons change, and so did I.” Partly, its that Covid parked me in a spot in my house looking out a window through a screen … Continue reading November 16, 2022
Dear Friends, Several of you asked about this quotation from Hans Krebs, Nobel biochemist and father of the Krebs Cycle. I used it in the sermon on November 6: “I saw them argue without quarreling, quarrel without suspecting, suspect without abusing, criticize without vilifying or ridiculing, and praise without flattering.” He was speaking of fellow … Continue reading November 9, 2022
Another question came in after the Question Box service on October 23rd , and I thought I would answer it in my way. “I wonder what people who don’t believe in god mean when they wish someone blessings? I’ve always understood blessing to mean wishing for god to provide comfort and support.” If a blessing … Continue reading November 2, 2022
Minister’s Message Here is the final question from the Question Box Service on October 23rd: “Where is the arc of justice bending?” It references an 1853 quotation from Unitarian minister Theodore Parker: “I do not pretend to understand the moral universe. The arc is a long one. My eye reaches but little ways. I cannot … Continue reading October 26, 2022
I’m back in Mankato after a fruitful leave for reflection and renewed friendships in Western New York. Back at my backyard view, watching the leaves fall. Watching the Downy woodpeckers and the squirrels continue to fatten themselves for the lean times that are coming. Watching that one leaf that does not seem to want to … Continue reading October 19, 2022
