“It is not a shallow thing, this hope. It is the hope that remains when more superficial hopes have gone. It is the hope that we don’t even know we have when life is hard and cruel. It is the hope that underpins our life and survives our death, carrying our love to those who are dear to us, to people we don’t even know, to generations yet unborn.”
Read moreThe Question of Divinity
“It has been said of Unitarians (usually by Unitarians) that they don’t sing hymns as well as they might because they are too busy reading the next line to see if they agree with it!”
Read moreFlying Through Gaza: A Christmas Sequel
“A voice was heard in Rama, sobbing in bitter grief; it was Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted because they were no more” (2: 19). Much “sobbing in bitter grief” has been heard in Israel and in Gaza since October 7th.
Read moreThe Meaning of Life
One of the things that humans perpetually seem to desire is an answer to life, the universe and everything... an answer to the question, what's it all about?
Read moreThe World Jesus Came To
Jesus wasn’t born into a historical or geographical vacuum. He was born at a particular time at a particular place and we might imagine that the New Testament would provide us with this information in a clear and unequivocal way. But it doesn’t.
Read moreAngels Have No Memory
We cannot eradicate memory, nor would we really want to. But we can choose what to do with it. In our Remembrance of the war dead we express our sorrow at lives cut short, we give thanks for what they achieved in defending freedom and resisting tyranny, and we acknowledge with regret the death and suffering on all sides that war did and does involve
Read morePoisoned by the Past
It is coincidental that this season of Remembrance also includes the day in November that marks the anniversary of the end of the First World War, a day when now we commemorate the dead of all wars and resolve not to repeat them. Tragically, though, in that – as a world – we have failed, even if we have succeeded in keeping vengefulness and triumphalism out of Remembrance Day itself.
Read moreReaping What We Sow
It sometimes seems that the future is bleak, with a burning planet descending into a chaos of social disintegration, environmental collapse and war as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ride out. But it needn’t be like this.
Read moreDefoe and Dissent
Defoe leaves us on his fictional island, as Crusoe left his ‘subjects’, with a diverse, humane, tolerant and harmonious community of men, women and children, “of which”, we are told, “there were a great many.” Not a bad vision for the 18th century and maybe not a bad one for the 21st!
Read moreEducation, Education, Education
“If King Solomon, Jesus and God Himself struggle to get their students to listen, what chance does a humble secondary school teacher have?”
Read moreEarth, Moon and Lammas
The climate-change and global warming, which the satellites in space have enabled us to chart on a planetary scale, make for a grim story that we ignored for too long – about fifty years or so, in fact. We may not be able to rely on the cycle of seedtime and harvest as we once did; we won’t be able to regard it as ‘eternal’ in a way that our ancestors did.
Read morePentecost and the Chalice Flame
We light our chalice to affirm the values we hold dear, to remember the “flames like tongues of fire” at Pentecost, and we light it to profess the Spirit that gives us life, the Breath of God which is our life and the life of the world.
Read moreType II Fun
Some time ago, Stacie took a break from work to send me an article from the Washington Post, titled “What is Type II fun,” and why do some people want to have it?” This was accompanied by a simple observation: we shall see if this long-distance bike ride we’re planning for this summer is Type II fun.
Read moreOutside the Cliffs of Eden
“There are no kings inside the Gates of Eden” sang Bob Dylan back in1967, at the height of that decade’s idealism and optimism. In an ideal world there would be no need for kings or rulers of any kind. People would cooperate, not compete; they would be ruled by wisdom and reason, live together in peace and love, and the divisions and prejudices of race and nation, religion and class would be no more. Eden is the best of all possible worlds, except that it is, in all probability, impossible.
Read moreThe Last Shall Be First
“One of the most notable aspects of the Easter accounts in the four canonical gospels is the presence of women at the crucial moments. And one woman in particular is named as being present at virtually all of them, namely Mary of Magdala or Mary Magdalen.”
Read moreThe Challenge of the Cross
“He was on the side of people who care about those who suffer. And he said that God was on their side too. And he showed that standing up for those who suffer can itself bring suffering: that standing up for truth, standing up for peace, standing up for justice, standing up for humanity, standing up for love… All these can bring down hatred, persecution and suffering - and death too. This is what Good Friday is about and it is the challenge of the crucifixion to all who follow Jesus.”
Read moreA Beloved Community
When you consider the obsession of the institutional Christian Church down the centuries with inventing, promoting, defending and enforcing so-called ‘orthodox’ dogmas, creeds and doctrines, you might imagine that Jesus had some interest in such things. Well, he didn’t. His concern was to create a new community that embraced, embodied and practiced love: divine love expressed in human love; love for God that is inseparable from love of neighbour.
Read moreTEMPTATION AND BEATITUDE: A LENTEN MEDITATION
There are those who seek to heal the wounds and divisions that make enemies of human beings and of nations, upholding the vision of just and humane relationships at every level.
Read moreMembership Meeting
Our reasons for meeting here are multiple – people will be here for company, a sense of community, stimulating thought, the calming routine of ritual, and a chance to consider that which lies beyond our immediate perception. Our reasons for membership are likewise. For me membership should fundamentally allow us authenticity - the ability to be ourselves, without shame. Membership of a group that supports us in who we are, and yet challenges us to think about who we want to be, as we make our individual journeys of faith.
Read moreWHERE DO THE MERMAIDS STAND?
“Where do the mermaids stand?” asked the mermaid in Robert Fulghum’s tale about some sort of wild children’s party. And on being told that “There are no such things as mermaids”, the mermaid replies, “Oh yes [there are], I am one.”
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