“Let us enter into that inner place of peace, that mood of meditation, that some call ‘prayer.’” I say this most Sundays as part of my introduction to the time of our service called Going Deeper. This is when we take time for silence, light Candles of Hope and Remembrance...
As we move toward the gathering storm that is the “Unite the Right” gathering of alt-right white nationalists in our city, I want to share with you some Charlottesville history, and some of our own history as a congregation. On July 12, 1898, a man was lynched … here in Charlottesville. Accused of...
As I write, the visit of the Klu Klux Klan is about a week behind me, and I am about to leave Charlottesville for two weeks of vacation. (My family and I are driving up to Maine to visit for the first time since we all left more than a...
We are excited to welcome Mark Ewert, UU Stewardship consultant, to TJMCUU August 25-27, 2017 for a Next Steps Weekend (NSW). The NSW will provide a review of our financial situation and stewardship potential and give us feedback and guidance on where we can go forward as a congregation. The...
For years it has been our practice for a team of lay people to work collaboratively with our ordained clergy in both creating and facilitating our Sunday morning worship experiences in the sanctuary. Maybe you have felt called to this ministry, yet don’t feel comfortable speaking in front of groups...
Our TJMCUU Board has engaged Mark Ewert, a UU Stewardship consultant, to undertake a review of our financial situation and stewardship potential during a Next Steps Weekend (NSW), August 25-27, 2017. The NSW is the first step in effectively utilizing a consultant to support our goals and aspirations as a...
I write this report while attending my first UU General Assembly a few days shy of beginning my term as president of the TJMC Board of Trustees. It’s been an interesting week of inspiring services, making some new friends, and installing a new UUA president after a tumultuous three months...
Whether we’re thinking about our current national political and cultural realities, the mood of our Association, recent events in our city, or even the state of things within our own congregation, many of us are decrying what seems to be a deepening sense of division, of separation. The classic question,...
There has been a lot of discussion, and some confusion, about what is happening tomorrow to respond to the presence of the Klan in our city. There are lists of choices for you to consider. Some have seen this as a sign of disunity, a disturbing demonstration of our inability...
I carry a collection of photographs on this iPad. Some are of my kids. (141, actually … pictures, not kids!) Just edging them out – at 156 pictures – is a collection I call “icons.” These are images of people – real and imaginary – who in one way or...