The rhythms of the Jewish High Holy Days, this period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, are moving me deeply this year. I seem to need to tell those I love that I love them more often and to let them know that I know I’ve not been perfect this last year. And I find myself acknowledging hurts I have been holding onto and opening my heart a little wider…to others and even to myself. Perhaps the divisiveness of our current politics makes the goal of atonement more urgent. To Atone. To be “At One.” Atonement…

With Labor Day behind us, summer has reached its official end. Like schools and many other institutions, First Unitarian moves into a new year. At least we say that a “new church year” is beginning, and it is true that our programming does ramp up. Religious education classes in our Learning Community resume and the choirs return. Classes for adults and small group opportunities for spiritual deepening will also begin soon. But energy remained high throughout the summer. Attendance, in fact, was up in comparison to last year. I know that worshipping in our lovely Chapel was a draw for…

My earliest two memories of the late Queen of Soul are of hearing my parents regularly play her cover of “Spanish Harlem” in the car, and of her striking appearance in Blues Brothers. I instantly knew two things about her: one, she lived her life unapologetically - you can hear it in the way she sings each note, and two, like so many of the strong Black women in my own life, she didn't take any smack from anyone. Aretha Franklin will always be one of the greatest singers and musicians to have ever lived. She's the only person I…

I wish I could paint for you the image of a father and son I hold as I prepare to join our First Unitarian delegation for Faith Floods The Desert. Next week, we will join UUs from across the country organized through Love Resists and No More Deaths/No Más Muertes to assert the right to save lives by stocking water caches for migrants walking north across the Arizona/Mexico border. In so doing, we risk the same charges facing the nine No More Deaths activists who provide food and water in the desert. If charged, we will contest those charges and…

This summer we have been worshipping in our historic Eliot Chapel so that construction work could take place in our Sanctuary. For years it has been a goal to make the chancel (that’s the front of the Sanctuary with the organ and the pulpit) accessible to people using wheelchairs and who live with other mobility issues. Thanks to the proceeds from this year’s auction we are finally able to do this important work. In addition to the accessibility work, we are hoping to make some aesthetic improvements that will make the space more inviting for everyone. Our sanctuary building was…

This week I am working hard to “tie up” loose ends and work through my year-end “to do” list. Some of you are finishing or have just finished a school year. Or a major project. Perhaps you would recognize my focus on crossing items off, my need to declare victory even though next year’s version of most of these tasks will be there to greet me when I return from my break. There is much to be said in defense of “finishing” things, not least the sense of accomplishment it can provide and the chance to move on to the…

Saturday evening we will celebrate Cathy Cartwright-Chow's 15 year ministry here at First Unitarian and her 30 years service to Unitarian Universalist congregations. We will send her off into retirement from full time work, to her son’s wedding in Malaysia and to welcome her first grandchild. This is another major milestone for the church. If you have not yet done so, please let us know that you can join us for the celebration. (cathysretirement@firstunitarianportland.org). Many of you already have heard the news that Cassandra Scheffman has been selected as our new Director of Religious Education. Cassandra is so well qualified,…

What does the Beloved Community look like? What will it look like? How will we know if we get there? Is this just about race? I have been asked these questions, and more, by members of our community. One of the challenges of using the language of Beloved Community is that it is open ended. On most days, that lack of specificity is a virtue. Because revelation, truly, is not sealed and we are always discovering how justice and mercy are calling us to open our eyes and widen our circle. But that lack of specificity can also frustrate. It is nice language but what are we really talking about, what would such a…

Too often, in recent days, I have found myself yearning for a return to “compassionate conservatism.” Each new day brings another revelation that our national leadership is motivated primarily by self interest; and our lofty national ideals, however poorly realized, no longer even figure in our national decision making. That nostalgia is proof positive, for me, that our moral compass needs recalibration. As members of First Unitarian, a community that describes itself as a liberal religious beacon of hope, we promise to help each of us find our moral compass. We are called, I believe, to resist despair and limit…

There are some things that need to be clearly condemned. Israel’s shooting of more than 1350 Palestinians on Tuesday and injuring of hundreds more was an outrage. I can imagine no moral universe in which American-armed professional soldiers firing thousands of rounds into protestors hurling rocks can be justified. An hour away from the slaughter, our President’s relatives were celebrating the end of any possible American role as a fair broker by opening our embassy in Jerusalem. Our current political leaders have shamefully justified the massacre at each opportunity since. Every lens I use leaves me disheartened and disgusted with…