The campers who were making our block their home have moved on. To be more specific, they were “moved on.” The city finally began enforcing the ordinance that prevents camping within 1000 feet of any school. There are many schools in our immediate vicinity, including … read more.
The news is filled with the impending landfall of Hurricane Matthew on the Florida coast. Living in Oregon, it is easy to feel insulated from those troubles a continent away. It is far more difficult to avoid the danger and divisiveness of this election season. … read more.
Our spiritual theme for October is forgiveness. It is a religious concept that invites us to learn more each time we engage with it. We think of the Biblical story of the prodigal son and the forgiveness every family I’ve known well has had to … read more.
Two more highly publicized police shootings of black men. Shall we just begin calling them murders? Are these the unfortunate actions of a tiny, misguided minority of our police? Will anti-bias training and body cameras stop the killings? Or serve to justify them?
As I write, … read more.
Mark your calendars. Next Tuesday, September 20 at 9 PM, PBS will broadcast Ken Burns’ new film, the story of Rev. Waitstill and Martha Sharp, Unitarians who travelled to Europe in early 1939 as the drum beat of war intensified and the Nazis began, in … read more.
In just a few days we will begin a new church year at First Unitarian. We will also pass an anniversary. Sunday, September 11, 2016, will mark 15 years since the attacks that changed so much in our life as a nation and in our … read more.
In recent days, immigration has taken center stage once again in our national political discussion. Will we create a “Deportation Force” to expel even more undocumented migrants than the record number sent south in the last 8 years? Will we attempt to build an impenetrable … read more.
As the summer comes to a close, we are hard at work preparing First Unitarian for the new church year. We are making some changes to help our congregation become more welcoming and accessible to more people. Our vision is to be a spiritual center … read more.
Since November 8, our sanctuary, like the sanctuaries of many religious communities, has been full. Even after almost three months, even after the Inauguration, even after the snow and ice, there were 1000 adults in the sanctuary last Sunday. The classrooms of the Learning Community … read more.
My series of paintings in this exhibit, entitled “Reflections on Falling Up,” owe their inspiration to the title and spirit of the Shel Silverstein’s poem, “Falling Up.” This body of work, completed over the past two years, explores implicit thought and emotion in explicit imagery … read more.
