Dear Friends, Summer is upon us, officially and in all ways that we can note with our senses—heat and rain, blue skies full of fluffy white clouds, lush plant life, rhubarb and peaches galore. Yes, gnats and mosquitoes, too. Still, summer is delightful, and it offers much respite from busy and fraught lives, even when … Continue reading June 24, 2020 Minister’s Message
Dear Friends, It has been 97 days since your UUFM leadership closed the Fellowship in response to COVID-19. That feels like a long time. We are doing our best, as a religious community and as individuals, to protect our most vulnerable people, including healthcare workers. We are finding ways to stay connected as a religious … Continue reading June 17, 2020 Minister’s Message
Dear Friends, Sometimes, my days just don’t go as planned. That is true for some of my weeks as well. I know I am not the only one. Today was one of those days. And it’s always unsettling to me because I mistake my wishes and my plans for reality. And so I did the … Continue reading June 10, 2020 Minister’s Message
Dear Friends, I spent most of Tuesday in The Cities, engaging in two silent protests organized by Black clergy. I wore a collar, a stole, and a mask. And I was thoughtful about how close I was standing to so many people, all of us trying to keep apart and failing in the moment. Life … Continue reading June 3, 2020 Minister’s Message
Dear Friends, I returned last night from the long weekend in Black Hills National Forest, as the Dakota people say—“the heart of everything that is.” We camped in a tent and cooked over an open flame. Social distancing was pretty easy, and we wore our masks. We sanitized regularly the single-occupant outhouse and espoused bucket … Continue reading May 27, 2020 Minister’s Message
Minister’s Message Dear Friends, Gov. Walz lifted his “Stay at Home” order this week, asking us to remain “Safer at Home” as much as possible. And last week our UUA President the Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray issued guidance for re-opening worship, guidance that cautions against meeting in person until May 2021. You can see the contradiction. … Continue reading May 20, 2020 Minister’s Message
Dear Friends, We have entered a phase in this pandemic time characterized by both impatience and fear. We ask, “Why can’t it all be over so I can get back to normal?” and “Wait, is it too soon? Is it really safe?” Pushed around by our desire to live our lives as we choose and … Continue reading May 13, 2020 Minister’s Message
Dear Friends, In the United States, we celebrate Mothers’ Day this coming Sunday, May 10. Perhaps florists and card shops will receive a stimulus bump as families honor the moms in their lives. So many mothers are struggling through their role differently—bread-winning and homeschooling in the same space, at the same time, with laptops and … Continue reading May 6, 2020 Minister’s Message
Dear Friends, Though Benjamin Franklin was neither a Unitarian nor a Universalist, his propensity to strive for self-improvement and individual development resonate with the premises of humanism. His “Thirteen Virtues” point the way to a good moral life, though the last has always struck me as hilarious (imitation being the highest form of flattery, but … Continue reading May 29, 2020 Minister’s Message
Dear Friends, Today is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, a day when we focus our attention on environmental protection. Earth Day was conceived in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco, where peace activist John McConnell proposed a day to honor the Earth and the concept of peace. McConnell intended Earth Day to be celebrated on March 21, … Continue reading May 22, 2020 Minister’s Message
