UUSLO

Halloween is all about scary. But today, we will hear a variety of ways to finish this thought: "You know what's really scary?....

It is a program sponsored by the UU Service Committee each year for as long as I can remember. More than that, it is a practice of cultivating relationships. More than that, it is a practice of unleashing the power of kindness and compassion.

Good friendship, in Buddhism, means considerably more than associating with people that one finds amenable and who share one's interests.

"...find out what it means to me." We all may think we know what respect means. But it may serve us to be more curious. What are the expectations about respect across generations, across racial/gender/sexual identities and cultures, among the disabled community...A big piece of respect means finding out what it means to the person or people with whom we are in relationship.

We are used to hearing "No justice, no peace!" at the many demonstrations that have taken place over the years. What would it mean to also turn that around (as Martin Luther King, Jr. did) to say, "No peace, no justice!"

To say something is possible necessarily implies that something else is possible. Right? Possible and possibly not, How do we best lay the groundwork for our most hoped-for possibilities to flourish?

No, that's not what the Little Engine says, but that's often what we hear when we demand an end to economic inequality, racism, and destruction of the environment. In an age of possibility, we often run into fatalism. And a new book has just come out that is a companion to the Little Engine That Could...

Mary Raskin is a member of Kol Shalom, Community for Humanistic Judaism in Portland, Oregon and serves on their Ritual Committee. Mary also serves as national president for the Society for Humanistic Judaism. She is certified Madrikha/Ritual Leader and is currently close to completing her studies to become a Humanistic Rabbi. Mary will share in this service about Tashlikh, a holiday that falls between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

We are leaning toward the future, ready to reclaim our lives...with more than a little hesitation.

What do we talk about when we talk about "we"? Does every "us" require a "them"?