Dear Friends, It is once again a time for me to take a short “pause” (my intentional word for the year). I’ll be traveling to Buffalo and then to Pennsylvania for the Memorial Day weekend. It may rain the entire time I am away. Still, it will be very good to see family and distant friends, … Continue reading May 22, 2019 Minister’s Message
May 15 Dear Friends, One of the blessings of engaging life with curiosity is that when an opportunity to learn something new arises, you act on it. And so, I have accepted with excitement and gratitude an invitation to an open house this Saturday at the Islamic Center of Mankato. Muslim people are immersed in … Continue reading May 15, 2019 Minister’s Message
May 8 Dear Friends, Though it is Hallmark calling us in to action this week (gotta get just the right Mother’s Day card this year to honor Mom), it was one of our Unitarian ancestors who began the practice of calling mothers into action in the midst of the Civil War. Julia Ward Howe made … Continue reading May 8, 2019 Minister’s Message
Dear Friends, Everywhere, the Fellowship is brighter—in the entryway, in the sanctuary, in the Faith Development spaces, in the fellowship hall, in the kitchen, even in the restrooms. Your leadership made a commitment and contracted for this energy efficient lighting. The next phase of this ambitious project involves installation of photovoltaic panels, which is happening … Continue reading May 1, 2019 Minister’s Message
April 24 Dear friends, Once again, people have been attacked in their places of worship, those places of uttermost vulnerability where we connect to ultimate sources of love, acceptance, comfort, affirmation, and struggles to be fully and openly human in history and in the vast universe. Once again, fear about personal safety and security rise … Continue reading April 24, 2019 Minister’s Message
April 17 Dear Friends. Our Installation Ceremony was beautiful and deeply moving. May the love and joy we shared last Sunday move us to greater and deeper ministry amongst both us attending our Fellowship and those with whom we seek to partner for the work of justice in a hurting world. Among the many meaningful … Continue reading April 17, 2019 Minister’s Message
April 10 Dear Friends, I am with you in spirit while physically in Boston at the First Year Ministers Seminar. I came here directly from Regional Assembly in St. Louis, where I confirmed proudly that our Fellowship is a long-time Fair Share supporter of the UUA and the MidAmerica Region. These several weeks have been … Continue reading April 10, 2019 Minister’s Message
Minister’s Message Poet T. S. Eliot tells us that “April is the cruelest month,” and here we are at the beginning of it again. Is spring actually here, or will winter return in a blizzardy blast like last year? Will the stone roll away once more from our dark tombs of self-regard and guardedness, from … Continue reading April 3, 2019 Minister’s Message
Minister’s Message Dear Friends, my trip to Buffalo has been very refreshing—it’s been cool and sunny, with signs of spring everywhere. I’ve read Louise Erdrich’s “The Plague of Doves,” which I highly recommend. Erdrich’s novel focuses on the tangled strands of Native and Euro families intersecting on a patch of land both claim as their … Continue reading March 27, 2019 Minister’s Message
Minister’s Message Dear Friends, I prepare to be away from the Fellowship for both personal and professional reasons much of the next three weeks. Family birthdays, visits with my ageing parents, and sorting cubbyholes and crawlspaces in preparation for selling our house in Buffalo will occupy the space between the next two weekends. I’ll be … Continue reading March 20, 2019 Minister’s Message
