I am a member of clergy. And I am also a citizen. I write this because silence in this moment is not neutrality — it is abdication. The church has a role in democracy. Not a partisan role — but a moral one. Democracy does not sustain itself, it is not self-executing. It lives [...]
There are moments in church life when the language of “strategy” exposes the cracks in our soul. Recently, Unity leadership offered such a moment that chilled me to the bone and broke my heart. In explaining why Unity World Headquarters and Unity Worldwide Ministries are merging into a single organization under a new Movement Model, [...]
Several months ago I wrote this piece for Unity Worldwide Ministries to distribute to the field, the global Unity movement. I waited and waited for a reply. Mind you, it was draft version 6. UWM decided they wanted to make a joint communication to the Unity movement with their sister organization, Unity World Headquarters. [...]
Ever said, “Now THAT’S my cup of tea,” or “Definitely NOT my cup of tea!” A “cup of tea” is an expression used to describe something we like, or even feel passionate about. WE can also talk about it in a negative context. Interestingly though, tea is a metaphor for our spiritual journey. It [...]
Have mercy on me, Mother Earth, according to your steadfast love and abundant benevolence. Wash each of us thoroughly while the dreamers awaken from their slumber. I know I have transgressed. I see before me the ways I have gone astray from your beauty and goodness. Create in me a clean heart, Mother [...]
The other day I stood in the crisp air of early morning, in the freshness of the dawning light, and knew without question the ecstatic and complex glory of my very simple life, at least for a few minutes. The day was bursting forward without temerity or hesitancy. The sky surrounding me held an eternity [...]
One of the most challenging things in life is to stay engaged in a conversation when there are clearly very different ideologies at play. It doesn’t take long for someone to feel defensive or think they are being attacked. Especially when it comes to issues of dismantling racism, LGBTQ+ rights, spirituality, capitalism, God, patriarchy, and [...]
Another new year. So how are you feeling? Yay or nay? Another new year and I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry. Although, as Dolly Parton says so eloquently in the movie “Steel Magnolias” after Shelby’s funeral, “Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion.” I think that sums up my strategy this past year. [...]
I don’t often hear people use the word “outraged” let alone “rage.” I will hear words like anger, frustrated, mad, irritated - but not rage. I think we have an allergy to it because it makes the body and mind feel out of control, at least it does for me. Often being outraged assumes [...]
There are a few words I have had “allergies" to over the years. Words like discipline, obedience, and accountability. Some have a more intense allergic reaction than others, such as difficulty breathing, maybe getting itchy or nauseous. Of course I jest, yet they are words that have produced some measure of tension in [...]
It is little wonder that many, to whom the first practical lessons in the gospel of the Christ came as liberation and power, should in time of failure and heartache have turned back to the old limited belief of the Fatherhood of God. Emilie Cady, Lessons In Truth, p 130 If you’ve ever been [...]
The following is an excerpt from a Christmas lesson by Charles Fillmore, co-founder of Unity. My transcription shares some of his ideas from over a century ago. Small edits were made for grammar, spelling and continuity of Fillmore's thoughts in sentence structures. Some of his musings may be seem tough to follow - chalk it [...]
And now we wait, not for the birthing of the Gospel in each of us, yet communally as well. As the year comes to an end, we notice many of us are hurting, exhausted, feeling alone - not everyone for sure, but more than we may realize. Advent reminds us there is room for our [...]
In the season of Advent silence can be a lot to ask of a person. And yet silence is the sound of Advent. Mary carried a child in the silence of the womb for nine months. It is where we hold space for what we long for – new life, collective healing, yet also the [...]
Advent begins as a solemn time. It’s the story of a woman who is the archetype of power and hope within her body. Our invitation this year is to encounter and embrace this solemnness, much like the story of Mary, as an embodied practice. Embodied spirituality is reintegrating our emotional and interior lives with the [...]
