At church last Sunday, after the 9:15 service, a congregant approached me, with concern on her face. “Can the new assault on the trans community be true? Haven’t you seen the news?” I had not. She was referring to the unconscionable proposal to require that gender identity, for all governmental and legal purposes, be determined by genetic testing. Trans and gender fluid individuals would be, in significant ways, written out of existence, their lived experience overridden by whatever chromosomal configuration they received at birth. The news of this proposal (thankfully, not yet implemented) had been published Sunday morning, just before…

The Sweet gum tree outside my kitchen window is wearing its spectacular fall finery, a profusion of red and orange and yellow. It is a sure sign of the changing season, of the turning of the year. UU minister Robbie Walsh: “I have just returned from the northern woods and I bring alarming news. Something there is turning the leaves to red and gold…and it’s coming this way. Already here one can see signs. An unfamiliar coolness in the air. Sailboats brought in. Just this morning, a school bus went by. Take warning, friends. Every leaf in our fair town…

I am still reeling from the Kavanaugh appointment to our highest court. The rational part of my brain knows that this was simply the exercise of power. I am also clear that the best, in fact the only effective response, will be for those on the progressive side to take back power, or at least regain a balance of power. Deadlock would be so much preferable to the damage the last 18 months have brought. But I am still reeling. And we all need to be prepared to survive the onslaught of the mid-term elections…even those of us who try…

Thursday, 1:30PM Dear friends, I wrote this blog post less than 24 hours ago. Today, with events in Washington seeming to crowd out most other concerns, perhaps I should cobble together a quick response and trust that you will wait for greater depth from me in good time. But I think this is still a good message for us, even today…for us and for others. Some of you will be joining the protest at the Courthouse at 4 today. Others may chose to gather in the Channing Room from 5-6:30 for community and prayer. Take a deep breath. And another.…

I am writing from Washington, DC, where I am attending a meeting of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice(RCRC) on whose national board I serve. Within the hour, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hear testimony from both Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and one of his several accusers, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. You are all as aware of the importance of this Supreme Court appointment as am I. The politicization of our highest court and its shift to the right put much at risk, including perhaps our democracy itself. That statement risks being too dramatic, I know. Perhaps our institutions…

Integrity, our spiritual theme this month, can so easily be understood as the taking of principled stands, of holding fast to what we believe to be right even to the point of personal sacrifice. We tell the story of Michael Servetus, early rejecter of the Trinity and advocate for a version of Unitarianism, who choose to be burned at the stake rather than compromise his theological views. Few of us are asked for that kind of integrity on steroids. But there is real danger in allowing a commitment to what we believe is right to become an attitude of righteousness.…

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…