In my sermon last week I referenced the book “God Revised: How Religion Must Evolve in a Scientific Age” by Rev. Galen Guengerich, a UU minister and colleague of mine. One of the ideas I talked about was the importance of gratitude as a building block for interdependent, healthy communities and congregations. Guengerich says that the…
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Tuesday night I co-chaired a regional VIP action meeting that focused on our work with Chandler Unified School District on mental health supports for students and with Chandler City Council on affordable housing strategies. We had 92 VIP participants, largely members from VUU and St. Matthews Episcopal here in Chandler. Many other member organizations were represented as…
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The UU College of Social Justice, UUJAZ and several AZ UU congregations have been participating in a small planning delegation with Borderlinks this week, and I am happy to have been able to join them. We are learning together and thinking about what it would look like to lead a delegation of UU’s in February 2024 and…
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The news has been filled with harrowing violence. From the wars in Ukraine and in Gaza to more mass shooting events in our own country, we are being bombarded with the trauma of mass murder, hatred, and mass destruction. At this moment it is possible to take a stand against anti-semitism and the horror of terrorism…
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This week I was happy to attend the installation of the settled minister for the Sedona Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Rev. Anthony Johnson. SUUF rents space from the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley Synagogue (JCSVV) and the shared space is beautiful, overlooking the breathtaking view of red rocks in Sedona. Rev. Anthony brings a lifetime of…
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Protect your health! Friends, we’ve had a number of people report to us that they have come down with COVID 19 in the last three weeks. Wearing a mask on Sundays and social distancing are things you can do to protect yourself and others. If you have what seem like mild cold symptoms, please test…
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This past Tuesday I worked with the family of Jamila and Damian Pulliam to create a memorial and celebration of life service for Jamila’s sister. Samira, who died last week after a short but fierce fight with cancer. Together with VUU volunteers and paid assistants we hosted an amazing, inspiring ritual and community gathering that…
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Desert Notes will return next week.
Spirituality of Conflict Last week your Board of Trustees, Committee on Shared Ministry and I met with Rev. Dr. Samantha Wilson to begin our work on the Spirituality of Conflict. The small group ministry capped out at 34 participants, and we had a very engaging and deep set of conversations that explored our own responses…
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Quick Desert Notes: One of the books that influenced my reflection last weekend was a book called “How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community” by Mia Birdsong. I hope some of you have a chance to read it! In addition, my colleague Kimberly Debus has a blog and a couple of the recent posts…
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