The first really warm days of spring—like yesterday and today—are such gifts. And this year especially so. Winter’s grip has felt especially tenacious. That’s probably why the warmth feels so good. Signs of rebirth are all around right now and it really is amazing to witness. That’s probably why Earth Day is celebrated in April, when we are so aware of the rebirth of the earth. Last Sunday there was a wonderful Earth Day Fair for families. There was everything from a book recycling station, to a chance to look at growing things under a microscope to bird houses made…

My heart is swelling with gratitude for all the people in our community who helped to make our day of the Installation so meaningful. By the way, if you had to miss it, you can watch in now on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/live/OQrxFxFAlN0?feature=share&t=552 On Sunday, we covenanted with one another – me, your new Senior Minister, and you, the members of this great congregation. Led, by our Moderator, Ryan Deibert, we made promises to nourish and uplift this shared ministry, which belongs to us all. We, the members and friends, the ministers and staff, co-create who we are and what…

I am so excited to be with you this Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. for our Service of Installation as we covenant together and make promises to one another to ground and lift our shared ministry. This is a service about us and our future. It is an invitation to individual and communal transformation, in the months and years ahead, within our congregation and through our engagement in the wider world of which we are a part.   Some people have asked about this service versus what happened last May during candidating week. Last May, you affirmed the call. This week…

Staying Connected Blog Rev. Thomas Disrud offers a reflection today. How is it we make the journey from Good Friday to Easter? It has been said, and I think I agree, that Unitarian Universalists sometimes want to get to Easter before we fully experience Good Friday. That the journey from death to resurrection first is about the deaths that are part of living. That the suffering and loss and brokenness from Jesus’ death are important preludes to the Easter story of new life and rebirth. Tomorrow evening we will have a Good Friday Tenebrae service at 7 pm in the…

Together, we co-create our spiritually alive, radically inclusive, and justice-centered community. We do this through joining our collective commitments to our collective time, talent, and treasure. Thank you for being so generous in all the ways you can be. This month we are finalizing a budget that focuses on the treasure part – the financial resources we have to plan for the next program year, July 2023 – August 2024. Fulfilling our mission is connected to our budget, which is one expression of what we plan to be able to do together. A congregation’s budget changes over time as particular…

On Sunday I preached on the theme of death—or perhaps more precisely how it is we live knowing the reality that we’ll all die someday. Since Sunday I’m thinking about two deaths around me and still reflecting on what they mean. On Tuesday morning I was privileged to be present at the death of a beloved member who died after living with cancer for a number of months. It was, as we might say, a good death, on their terms and surrounded by family and closest friends. But that’s not always the case. On Wednesday a person living in a…

Over the course of this year, I am getting the chance to meet with a number of different groups in our community, including our Social Justice Action Groups. Last week, I met with members of Committee on Hunger and Homelessness (COHHO), who are engaged in some of the most pressing matters for our city. It was an engaging dialogue and a reminder of how we are both a Spiritual Community for Unitarian Universalists and religious liberals AND a Community Center that serves the wider world.   This twin role of our congregation is something I have always taken to heart for…

I’m thinking a lot about change these days. Change in the world. Change at the church. Change in our lives. Change. Of course, we know on some level that change in life is constant. Everything is impermanent. Everything is in flux. All that said, my experience has been that more often than not most of us resist things changing. At least all too often that is true in my life. So the question is how is it that we relate to change? Through the years I have found the work of William Bridges to be helpful. That there are three…

On the three-hour journey to travel four miles home yesterday amidst the chaos of the second-largest snowfall on record in Portland, on the first day of the Lenten Season, I was reminded that Lent is a journey of surrender. The three leading practices of this season – prayer, fasting, and charity – are meant to open space to experience the divine and to follow where that leads us. Instead, we too often practice the journey of Lent as an exercise in willpower This may be in part because of the tendency to focus on fasting over prayer and charity. Prayer…

In their meeting this week, our lay ministers reflected on the challenges of the last several years of our lives. Holding the “stew of anger” that surrounds us in our national and world politics, the hate directed at some of the most vulnerable among us, and the global warming crisis, among other things. All of that happened before the Covid pandemic and how Covid has added a whole new layer to things. I’ve come to understand it as a time of existential angst. There is a lot of hold these days. The lay ministers offered ways that they have navigated…