St. Paul wrote: "For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate." (Romans 7:15) St. Paul meet Richard Thaler. Thaler just won the Nobel Prize in Economics and explains why we (people) make irrational decisions. As we enter the holiday season - what has been called "Hallothanksmas" - the opportunities for poor decision-making will be abundant. Let's explore how we might keep the faith, act religiously, and make it through what for many can be an unsettling time.

This year is the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. All Protestant denominations got their start on October 31, 1571 - and that includes Unitarian Universalism. It's been a long journey and this Sunday I concluded the story of how we got this way by continuing to unravel the many twists and turns that our journey has taken.

This year is the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. All protestant denominations got their start on October 31, 1571 - and that includes Unitarian Universalism. It's been a long journey and this Sunday Rev. Fred will start to unravel the many twists and turns that the journey has taken.

In this message, dedicated to Rev. John Crestwell's mentor and colleague, Rev. Dr. Fredric John Muir, John tells the story of how he found Unitarian Universalism and why he remains a UU even though his faith has waned and even faulted in the process. He boldly proclaims that his religion gives him the space for this questioning and evolving as a human being--space we all need to grow.

It's not just the times we share that require courage, it's likely that each of us must face challenges of all sorts that require courage. When seeing another act with courage, I often hear someone comment, "How do they do it?" My response: "Take courage friends. You too have what it takes." Really? Do you believe that? This Sunday we take a on the new monthly theme of courage. (At the start of the second service - at 11:15 - we will gather outside, at the Black Lives Matter banner, to rededicate it and us to this courageous work).

Scrabble became famous in the 50's in America. In this message, Rev. John uses the more recent digital scrabble game and a sports metaphor (I know some of you hate board games and sports) to make his point about living with hope.

Join Rev. Fred Muir before the start of the Jewish High Holy Days by considering forgiveness and what that looks like today, which is a quintessential theme of the period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

In this message, Rev. Fred answers questions from the congregation. The questions vary from spiritual to self-help, to perspectives on current events. Enjoy and ponder his responses...

A renowned author noted: "The past is never dead. It's not even past." Or as Yogi Berra is supposed to have said: "It's deja vu all over again." The last six months have been challenging times for religious liberals, especially Unitarian Universalists. Just when we may have thought our past was dead ... here we go again. Join Rev. Fred as he continues looking at how our way of faith has been a harbinger of America's path.

It's about this time every year that we read about the tensions and divisions in religious denominations (we hear about it now because they are having their annual gatherings). Such tensions are a part of our faith history too; in fact, UUs often experienced tensions and divisions before others. Join Rev. Fred as he shares one of our faith community's most tumultuous times and see if it sounds familiar.

One correction: Rev. Fred mentioned that Anne Frank lived in Prague instead of Amsterdam. Enjoy!