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),...
Before the arrival of the Klan in July, and again in leading up to tomorrow’s alt-right rally, I have said that staying away from the center of things is a perfectly reasonable response. “Don’t give them any attention,” many of you have said, and there are lots of others who...
Wednesday August 9th, at 7 PM, our Assistant Minister, Rev. Alex McGee will lead special worship service with Rev. Jan Rivero of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church. The service is designed to give us spiritual comfort and strength as our community prepares to respond to the alt right rally here...
“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...