Category Archive

Actually, I’ve always loved Valentines’ Day – it’s ALMOST up there with Halloween!  I like making valentines with my kids.  But this year, it’s different, and I reflect that it may never be the same lighthearted holiday again. It’s raining like crazy – the sky is crying! – and I’m listening to all the anniversary programs on the radio about … Read More

Happy post Groundhog day.   As the tradition goes, if the groundhog sees its shadow, there will be 6 more weeks of winter.  No shadow, and spring is arriving early this year. The Stewardship Team has been reviewing our own congregation’s shadows regarding pledge receipts.  So far, we are shadow free in our pledge collections for the year. We are on … Read More

Hoarding brings images of heaps of stuff in one’s home.  There are entire television shows about the suffering of hoarding, or less severe, addressing our clutter.  But I’m talking about a different kind of hoarding, the non-material kind.  I’m talking about hoarding the warmth of our spiritual home, at the UU Church of Studio City, all to ourselves! It’s tempting, … Read More

I have been astonished at the LAUSD teachers’ tenacity to stand out in the rain this week, day after day, picketing to draw attention to the plight of our public school children.  Teachers, getting drenched in the deluge, going without pay.  As I write, it’s Thursday, and they are negotiating today with the school board.  I sure hope they make … Read More

As we enter deeper into what looks like will be longest government shut-down in history, it’s hard not to see the reality of a crisis of leadership in our country.  It makes one feel helpless to do anything about it.  What is the up side of this, if there could be one?  What leadership still functions and soldiers on? I … Read More

Friends, after this blog, I’ll be taking a break for a few weeks.  I have turned over a new leaf to write a blog most weeks, so I hope y’all have been reading ’em!  But alas, I still need a break every now and then (next Sunday will be my first Sunday off since August; oy), so this blog is … Read More

A few days ago, I received this email from my colleague, Rev. KC Slack, who serves the UU Church of the Verdugo Hills in La Crescenta: As you all know, the situation at the border has recently been escalated by US law enforcement, and refugees are struggling in hard conditions. Some very trusted activist friends of mine have been gathering … Read More

I both love and hate this time of year.  I love it because Advent traditionally asks us to prepare for the sacred to enter our lives.  Metaphorically, we are told to not sleep, but rather be watchful for how we might let the saving power of love enter our lives.  If we fall asleep, we might miss it.  I love … Read More

I feel like I have been getting ready for a wonderful wedding taking place this Saturday night!  Food, entertainment, music, what am I going to wear . . . ?  Our 75th Anniversary Gala is finally going to happen and I am SO excited.  For many months the Anniversary Planning Team has worked hard on the details of properly acknowledging … Read More

Guest blogger and preacher Antoinette Scully . . . I discovered Octavia Butler in 2016 when I started my book blog and my Black author experiment. That year, I dedicated myself to only reading books written by Black writers and sharing my thoughts on those books at blackandbookish.com. I’ve been a longtime reader but I had never heard of this Pasadena … Read More