Letters from a Glass House

Santaria is a religion of the natural world and its power. Originally practiced by enslaved Yoruba people, it is now practiced by people across the world, especially in Florida (especially South Florida and Miami), New York City, New Jersey, and parts of California and Texas. Come and explore this amazing religion with guest speaker Ayleen Howe.

Who you were is not who you have to be, and sometimes it's okay for things to be over. What does it feel like to know, completely, that all the shoes have dropped, the report card is finished, and you can finally breate? Let's talk about Yom Kippur, and what it means for UUs!

Rosh Hashanah is the head of the year, and the chance to start over. It's also the day of judgement. How can it help you to repent, repair, and begin again?

Fair wages, safe working conditions, and solidarity with labor unions and worker movements, these are what truly make America great. Let's talk about economic justice as a spiritual practice on the Labor Day weekend

Unitarian Universalism values a free democratic process and the independence that it grants congregations. Still, we recognize the value that strong, competent, and accountable leaders bring to organization. How, then, do we navigate the change that comes when we lose leaders to illness, or by accident, or by simply growing apart? How do we lead together with inspiration, skill, and love? 

 Last August, youth protestors began flying the flag of the Straw Hat Pirates, from the manga and anime One Piece, in Indonesia, Nepal, and eventually all over the globe. In Kathmandu, the Lion’s Palace burned in the background while in the foreground a young man scaled the fence to tie up a cartoony pirate flag. Why? Why, in a crowd of thousands, does this symbol stand out? And what can a story of the adventures of a teenage pirate made out of rubber teach us about inspiring and sustaining revolution? 

When we allow ourselves to be pushed to emotional extremes on a daily basis, we lose the ability to direct those emotions towards what really matters. If we burn up all of our anger at someone cutting us off in traffic, we have none left to forge into the outrage that drives us to march in the streets. If we drain ourselves weeping every minute of the day, the sorrow we feel at the death of a loved one rings hollow. What we need, then, is to learn how to regulate and channel those emotions into those areas that can have a tangible impact on the world 

The world as it stands is designed to crush us, and in particular to crush us under the weight of those we hold dear. We must not allow this to happen: to allow our loved ones to be that which buries us. But the answer is not to shirk those ties that bind: rather, we must join ourselves to as many of those inter-linked chains as possible, so that the weight of the world may be bourne by each of us, and none alone.

Why is some art labeled sacred and some profane? Can art really be a profanity? What is "art" anyway? Join us for a provocative look at the world of creativity!

ADA compliant? Handicapped friendly? Full access? What do we really mean when we say thiese things, and how are we doing at them?