The Need to Belong
Time for All Ages
We all have a need to belong somewhere, to recognize that we are not isolated beings. How is it we find our place in the family of things?
Speaker: Rev. Tom Disrud
Withered, We Come to Weather
Overheard a conversation among a small group of people this week. “Happy New Year,” says one person, “at least we know 2022 will be better than the last two…” A noticeable and sustained pause descends on the group. The person speaking, picking up on this, … read more.
Called to Task Divine
Eight minutes and 46 seconds. Hearing that in the abstract doesn’t sound like a whole lot of time. But then imagining that amount of time with a police officer’s knee on your neck, that’s a whole different story. In that context it feels like an … read more.
Coming Together By Staying Apart
Words of Wendell Berry:
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, … read more.
Feet of Clay
One of the privileges I have as a minister is officiating at
memorial services. “That must be so hard,” people sometimes say to me. And yes,
sometimes it is hard, especially when the circumstances of any given death are
particularly difficult. But mostly there’s a tremendous sense of … read more.
Keep On Moving Forward
This
weekend we celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr. He would have turned 91
years old were he still alive. And imagining what King would have to say in the
age of Trump we can only guess. Just what would he have to say about the
divisions … read more.
Fear and Courage
Thank
you choir. To my knowledge that is the first time that Taiko drums have been
here in this sanctuary.
The poor and dispossessed take up the
drums
For civil rights–freedoms to think
and speak
Petition, pray and vote. When thunder
comes,
The civil righteous are finished being
meek.[1]
Our
spiritual theme this month has … read more.
My Country ‘Tis of Thee
This week, as our country was about to celebrate its 243rd birthday, a controversy developed over Nike’s decision to pull shoes that had the so-called Betsy Ross flag on them. They were set to go on sale on July 4 but Nike changed course, apparently … read more.
We Are Not Our Own
Earlier this month the Washington Post Magazine
decided to illustrate its cover about climate change in an unusual way. To mark
the occasion of Earth Day—and the scale of the impact of global warming—it
produced not one but 24 magazine covers on the many ways global warming is
affecting … read more.
Resilience as a Spiritual Practice
I’ve noted that there seems to be a good deal of resonance for many of us with this month’s spiritual theme of resilience. This is one of the new themes for this year, and perhaps part of it is just how timely it feels for … read more.