On Sunday, I am service leader at my UU fellowship, working with the minister on a service about Solstice and Christmas. I have long wanted to talk about Christmas and the traditional Nativity story in the context of my UU'ism so for my part of the service, I am offering the following reflection. The reflection in our service is an opportunity for the service leader to offer their own thoughts on the theme of the service.

My Message for April 7.  I am thinking about a variant of the Velveteen Rabbit for the story.

Courage to Doubt: Courage to Believe 2013 04 07  Acts 5:12-32; John 20:19-31

I just posted my story and message for Easter Sunday in a blog.  I felt pulled to present a very different message from my usual Easter messages.

One of my tasks here at COP17 is to pray for courage.
 
It takes courage to listen humbly.

"Most people, living heedlessly, tanning themselves, engaging in terrorism, or becoming TV slaves, ridicule political chatter and politics. They see that there is nothing to hope for from them. They are also exasperated by bureaucratic structures and administrative bickering. If we denounce such things, we gain the ear of a large public. In a word, the more the power of the state and bureaucracy grows, the more the affirmation of anarchy is necessary as the sole and last defense of the individual, that is, of humanity. Anarchy must regain its pungency and courage.

I hope that you enjoyed a change of pace over Christmas, allowing for rest and recreation. For me, this often comes in the form of movies and theatre.

Welcome to my blog—a place to reflect with me on God’s abundant healing of soul, community, and creation. I hope you will visit often and be part of this sacred conversation.

The front page of the morning newspaper quotes an 11-year-old girl saying, among other things, “If you’re going to go through life, truth is big.”

Dear Wonder Friends,

As some of you may know, I have been in hospital since April.