Tag Archives: UU 4th Principle

Listening: and Silence

Posted on June 6, 2016 by Christiana McQuain

One of the reasons I appreciate silence is my acute awareness of how very uncommon it is.  I grew up in New York City.  There, the opportunity to commune with silence is not just rare, it’s nonexistent.  There is a … Continue reading →

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June 1–Listening: To Whom?

Posted on June 1, 2016 by Bob Patrick

Why Not Be Polite? Everyone Is God speaking. Why not be polite and Listen to Him? Hafiz   After a month of focusing on the ways that we belong, can belong, and need to belong, this provocative word from Hafiz … Continue reading →

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Belonging: What’s Waiting on You?

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Bob Patrick

I recently enjoyed Krista Tippet’s interview with poet, David Whyte. Among many gems, Whyte noted that one cannot argue with poetry, “because if you can argue with it, it’s not poetry.  It’s prose.”  I’ve considered for many years through my … Continue reading →

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Belonging: The Test

Posted on May 16, 2016 by Bob Patrick

How welcoming are we as a community?  Any person can ask this question of any community that we belong to.  Churches love to put that word on their signs:  Welcome! They often promote themselves on signage and literature as being … Continue reading →

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Belonging: Going to Hell?

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Bob Patrick

It’s not unusual for those of us in progressive religious faiths to be told, even if from time to time, that we are going to hell for our beliefs or our lack of the right beliefs.  If “hell” is anything … Continue reading →

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Belonging: A Relational Affair

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Bob Patrick

The Rev. Grace Imathiu, a United Methodist minister, called on her community to embrace now as the time to accept the LGBTQ communities in the full embrace of the Church.  United Methodists are gathering in their General Conference currently, and … Continue reading →

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Belonging: Go on and wave your flag

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Bob Patrick

I wonder if any of us can imagine what our lives would be like–and perhaps more to the point–what our outlooks on life would be if as children we had grown up in a civil-war torn country, seen three of … Continue reading →

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