On Sunday, September 10th I began our formal recognition and celebration of the 25th anniversary of our Director of Faith Development, Leia Durland-Jones, beginning her ministry to and with this congregation. Here are the words I said: The people we’ve just honored are among the many ministers of this congregation. ...
Jonathon Blake is a University of Virginia graduate who has lived in Charlottesville for the last 20 years. Growing up in Mechanicsville, Virginia, he made the move from his hometown in 1998 while attending the university. Drawn to art, writing, mixed media and a variety of other expressive outlets from...
On Friday night, August 25, Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 Storm and brought with it deadly winds and rain to an area of the United States millions call home. Much of the Texas Gulf Coast has been impacted and communities in Louisiana and across the state of...
In our worship life for the past several years we have participated in a program called “Soul Matters.” Developed at First Unitarian Church in Rochester, NY, Soul Matters provides monthly themes as a way to help focus worship so as to correct the all-too frequent model of jumping around week-to-week...
Our image/metaphor informing our worship this month is a bowl. You can take this into your life beyond Sunday mornings by musing on questions such as these: How many kinds of bowls (with how many uses) can I think of? Do I have any kind of association with a bowl?...
PACEM is an emergency homeless shelter. We provide food, shelter, and compassionate support during the coldest months of the year to folks who would otherwise be sleeping on the streets of Charlottesville. We rely heavily on the local faith community, those congregations willing to open their doors and their hearts...
On Sunday, August 27, 2017, the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. delivered the sermon. Nearly 500 people filled our sanctuary, social hall, and overflow seating outdoors. NBC29, The Daily Progess, and UU World all reported on the occasion. During the service we passed out envelopes for the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. ...
This is the text of a Letter to the Editor I wrote for my local paper, The Daily Progress, in response to an editorial they published prior to the events of August 12th, 2017. When studying the causes of WWI in junior high, my teacher said that the assassination of...
The UUA Southern Region has just published a thoughtful piece about August 12th by Carlton Elliot Smith (who joined us for our service that Sunday). It’s well worth reading, both for the appreciation he expresses for the work done by members of our congregation, and for his reflections on the...
This morning I received a link to a page put up by Indivisible which lists the groups and individuals who will be holding one form or another of vigil in solidarity with our city. I lost count, but when I put them all onto 8.5 x 11 paper (double sided),...