Reflections from an experienced chaplain going through the loss of his own father. My father died April 2018. In October I traveled back to Colebrook, CN to help my family celebrate his life in the church across the street from the house where he grew up. When I returned from…
My Father Died…
My father David Cooper died April 4, 2018 of Interstitial Pulmonary Fibrosis, which he got from being in downtown Manhattan in the hours, days and weeks following the disaster of 9-11. My dad would remember the hours after, the sky full of white particles, falling like snow, building materials from…
“Fiercely Protect our Diversity”
I was sitting in flower communion (a UU ceremony started in 1923 by Rev. Norbert Capek in Prague) listening to Rev. Patty Willis talk about the diversity of the flowers, and how they are made more beautiful by their differences. It is the bright, luminous, array of colors of flowers that make…
Reflection from 1936
We UU’s, as a faith, have something to offer national politics and governance. For those who like social reflection out there…and find it fascinating when the past is relevant today…I was just re-reading the 1936 Commission on Appraisal Report “Unitarians Face a New Age” and Chapter 13, on page 307-308…
Spiritual Practices for White Discomfort
Spiritual Practices for White Discomfort I think my favorite is “When judgment comes up, try turning to curiosity…” Yeah, happens all day long in chaplaincy. All day long… Great article. Want to add it here.
Reflections on Worth and Dignity
This sermon was delivered on July 7, 2013 at South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society during our summer of our seven principles. This was the first in a series of worship services centered around the seven principles of Unitarian Universalism. Our first principle is really one of the foundations of our…
God, Who?
Last week I gave the guest sermon at Pocatello Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (PUUF) entitled God, Who? about our relationship to God, the word, the concept, the presence, and conceptualizing God as a process unfolding, rather than as a personage – more of a Tao than an identity. There is ample…
Being and Doing
I think all too often our attention is focused on “doing” with each other when the greatest gift we can give is “being.” I know that the more I study ministry, the more I explore myself, the more this lesson comes to the center of my room. When we talk…
I Stand with Them
http://www.pnwumc.org/gc2012/what-does-a-statement-of-gospel-obedience-mean-for-the-church/ Read it. I have a fellow seminarian who’s Methodist jurisdiction has been bold enough to stand up for their LGBTQ members by declaring that paragraph 161F in their Book of Discipline is immoral and unjust. This is a bold, brave and courageous move. I am deeply inspired and impressed…
Theology of Now
I have been doing a class on Practical Theology and struggling a bit, so am going to come back to this blog to explore some thoughts, ideas and invite reflection in comment. If you read this, and you have thoughts, please, comment. Classical “Theology” is a “discourse on God” so…