by Robin Mitzcavitch, Director of Religious Exploration I’ve decided that I’m going to be a person who tries harder to embrace possibility. That’s a choice I have to make. During these times, there are so many things pointing at me saying, “isn’t this awful?” The world’s problems are so big that I feel like no … Continue reading Embracing Possibilities – The Old Fashioned Way
by Rev. Aaron Payson This month’s Soul Matters Theme, Embracing Possibility, could not be better timed! After 10 long years, the patent has finally been approved! This effort just goes to show how ingenuity, desperate circumstance, and a little creative marketing can go a long way! Blessings, Aaron Budget Saved! Patent Approved! Worcester- The near-tragedy … Continue reading Embracing Possibility
by Moira Rouse & David Schowalter, Stewardship Team The Stewardship Team gives a hearty “Thank you” to all of those who have pledged! Over the last three weeks, we have raised over $160,000 in 49 pledges and IRA distribution requests for the 2026/2027 church year. This puts us well on our way towards last year’s … Continue reading So Far, So GOOD!
by Laura K. Secor Hello my friends, We are continuing to explore “The Way of the Bodhisattva”, a vivid description of the journey towards a particular flavor of enlightenment, a popular choice for Mahayana Buddhists. Which choice? Why, to embark on this “Enlightened Being Way”, to pursue this path, to explore the means of moving, … Continue reading The Way of the Bodhisattva – Part Three
by Robin Mitzcavitch, Director of Religious Exploration I am jumping for joy because the temperatures are rising, the sun is out, and my finger is healing. Yes, I had a “sewing accident” and then 12 stitches in my finger two Fridays ago. I have never “run over” my finger with a rotary cutter in the … Continue reading Attention Please
by Rev. Aaron Payson I ended last Sunday’s homily with the following words: A house falls, and someone calls it justice.A child cries, and someone calls it noise.The sky is full of reasons,the ground is full of bodies,and the story keeps choosing its villains. Somewhere, an olive-skinned girlis trying to tell the truthover the roar … Continue reading Paying Attention In This Moment
by Moira Rouse & David Schowalter, Stewardship Team & Melissa McKeon, Board President Last year, we “Defied Gravity.” This year, in the sequel, we are grounded in something just as powerful — For Good. If you’ve seen Wicked: For Good, you will recognize that in the title song, Elphaba and Glinda sing about how they … Continue reading The 2026 Stewardship Season – For Good
by Laura K. Secor Hello my friends, We are continuing our exploration of the Bodhicharyavatara, the Way of the Bodhisattva, written by Shantideva a long time ago. It is humbling to realize that when Shantideva contemplated the words of the Buddha 1300 years ago, the words of the Buddha had been providing grist for the contemplative … Continue reading The Way of the Bodhisattva – Part Two
by Robin Mitzcavitch, Director of Religious Exploration What is Nirvana Day? An easy glimpse before a more complicated narrative: resources are adapted from BBC Bitesize Nirvana Day is an annual Buddhist festival that remembers the death of the Buddha when he reached Nirvana at the age of 80. Nirvana is believed to be the end … Continue reading Who’s Got The Nirvana?
by Rev. Aaron Payson In 1858, 97 years before Rosa Parks would not give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, Unitarian author and poet, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper did the same on a Philadelphia horse-drawn streetcar. Her actions, and the later humorous retelling of the story, in The Liberator, helped many realize … Continue reading Resilience and The Courage to Stay Seated
