After a week of restoration, I was glad to be back in the pulpit this weekend. I know many families were still on fall break–I wish my kid’s school was on the revised year round schedule, too! In any case, a number of you commented on the service as especially moving, from the music to the readings…
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This weekend was another busy one! Katie Hurstwicker trained several VUU folks who serve in the nursery and faith formation in CPR, as well as a member interested in the training. We appreciate the donation of her time which saved us money. We currently don’t have an AED on either side of campus, and we are going to…
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Last weekend we welcomed Rev. Lydia Ferrante-Roseberry to campus to begin our work with Stewardship for Us, a UU consulting agency that works on….you guessed it….Stewardship! Debbe Simpkins has been spearheading this work, and we were both very energized by how many people attended small group conversations, the workshop on Saturday and lunch together afterwards, worship on…
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This week as I was talking to some of our members in a committee meeting, I said “We have to err on the side of community because that’s what’s going to save us from the BS.” DeeAnne said, “I want a sermon or a Happenings article about that!” I was talking about how right now we need…
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Over the last year I’ve become a WNBA fan, following the Mercury here in Phoenix (X Factor!) and attending games with my family and various friends and even UU colleagues. It came as a surprise to me how much we all fell in love with our team and with being at games. It’s hard to describe…
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Thanks to everyone who came to our first annual All Community Water Party and Picnic! A continuous line of kids made use of the giant water slide and ensuing puddles, adults enjoyed conversations, refreshments, air conditioning, and watching the fun. I made it down the slide a couple of times, as did Obi (who was…
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Last Friday I spent the day with the Azcend board, planning our upcoming year and learning together. Saturday I spent the day with the VUU board (also on Sunday afternoon) doing the same. About twenty people came to learn a little about safety planning for our campus on Saturday, and then on Monday I met with the…
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For the last two weeks I have served as a legal observer in our immigration courts with Borderlands Resource Initiative, joined by other clergy and volunteers. I have sat through four hours of court proceedings to observe how this process works and to provide witness to the ways in which our system is functioning. As you may know, a…
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Last weekend I attended an all-day training with the ACLU called “Power and Purpose.” This training included some popular education that helped us define and understand how authoritarianism is developing in our country and what we can do about it. We talked about the history of non-violent mass resistance, reflected on our own values and how they…
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As I return to the desert after being on both off the coast in Baltimore and also along the coastline of Oregon and Washington, I am arriving feeling both more settled and less certain. I’ve always said that it takes three years to make most major life transitions–to live into them and begin to feel a…
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