Messages on topics of interest to our community from our Lead Minister Rev. Leslie Takahashi .
Reframing
For the last few weeks, I have been thinking of the power of reframing. Our faith tradition teaches me that bad things do not happen “for a reason” and yet when they happen, especially unbidden as the events of this spring, we have an opportunity to reframe them. Increased time to be mindful has been one of the new frames I have put on this time of sheltering and increased alone time. I am appreciating that I have more time to turn inward and to discover the internal closets that I can clean out (and someday those external ones as well!) In recent weeks, as I find my spirit getting more weary, I have found reframing with gentleness important. Here is the meditation on gentleness from this week’s vespers service: Gentle, like a breeze moving through the grasses. Gentle as a realization that spreads across your awareness and gives release. Gentle as the first light that butters the morning. Gentle as the quiet after chaos and ruckus. Gentle as a rose petal against skin longing for touch. Gentle as a moth’s wings beating against a light. Gentle as the glow of a candle on a dark night. Gentle as the…
Recent Posts
With What Do We Fill Our Hearts?
Here is the meditation we shared in our Vespers service this week. Join us for…
Leslie’s Logos – March 2020
We have begun 2020 with a lot of bang! Our volunteers have been amazing, stepping…
A meditation for the end of January…
This week so many of those I interacted with spoke to the frenetic pace and…
Of Intention and Attention
As this new year and decade dawn, I find myself in a more contemplative place…
Gifts of the Spirit
When we had our Breath and Spirit retreat last weekend, we had a table of…
How do we embrace the mystery and miracle of this season?
Here is a meditation for these days: How do we embrace the mystery and miracle…
The Evolution of A Holiday
Few occasions bear the mark of the times the way that Thanksgiving does. For the…
One thing about my job…
One thing about my job is I got to see how many people go the…
Random acts of kindness and power
The last few weeks have brought many unsettling events with earthquakes and fires, smoke and…
What are we harvesting?
Though the dry heat of the Santa Ana winds does not necessarily feel like fall,…
Friday, October 18, 2019
My father died in July 2016. In the ferment of that week, I somehow enabled…
Friday, October 11, 2019
This week as we have been wrestling with power outages, high winds and the threat…
In recent years, I have come to equate the unexpected with the unwanted.
In recent years, I have come to equate the unexpected with the unwanted. So many…
When the past isn’t past
So many have spoken about the interactions between the past and the present that to…
On the Purdue Pharma settlement….
In a week in which the Bahamas is reeling from hurricane devastation, when September 11…
Smallest Slivers of Light
Last month when the moon cycled away into darkness, it seemed to take a long…
Why Talking About Climate Change is Cheering
Okay, it seems counter-intuitive, however, I believe our new Climate Justice Team's leadership and our…
Being a learner
With the recent arrival of our special guest, I have become aware of a serious…
Leslie’s Logos – August 2019
Think back on your favorite experiences of learning. Who were you with? What was the…
Leslie’s Logos – July 2019
As we enter into the summer, the need for restoring our spirits is clear. Three…
Of hummingbirds, gifts and gratitude
This is the time of the year when I am tired. So gratitude becomes especially…
Raising a flag
I took a little time from the busy preparations for our Flower Communion and the…
Leslie’s Logos – June 2019
Gratitude is one of the things that I am ending this year within my heart.…
Friday, May 17, 2019
This week I share some meditative thoughts from this week's vespers service: Renewal is a…
Leslie’s Logos
The week before Easter we had our own small renewal. Three new banners were mounted…
Friday, April 19, 2019
On Wednesday, I had the privilege of sitting with a woman who I will call…
Last Sunday I took time to engage my curious mind
Out in the Briones Open Space, Crystal the American Bully Breed pup and I went…
How do we make the best out of challenging times?
I did something I don't do very often. I changed the focus of my sermon…
A Legacy of Commitment
Last week, Betty Reid Soskin reminded us of the legacy of this congregation which has…
Friday, March 22, 2019
In her book, Sign My Name to Freedom, Betty Reid Soskin writes, "After some months…
On Disrespect to the Transgender Community
This week, our association was involved in the conversation about our transgender kin and the…
Here are two snapshots from this week
The first occurred on Wednesday when our Elder Journey group had their meeting. Rain was…
Friday, February 22, 2019
On Monday, a segment on NPR caught my attention. Though its focus was on the…
What a Great and Engaging Conversation
What a great and engaging conversation we had at the Counterweight Values class last Wednesday. …
Leslie’s Logos – February 2019
Other religious bodies have a creed, that is there is a statement of belief which…
In honor of tomorrow’s Women’s March and Martin Luther King Day Monday
In honor of tomorrow's Women's March. The words of our ancestor, proto feminist Margaret Fuller…
How do we learn to speak across difference?
As we enter into this 2019, one thing we know is that we need as…
January 4, 2019
This weekend between the holidays I took my dogs over to the Diablo Valley College…
A meditation on the longest night of the year
Peace is a quality of heart and a decision of presence. Peace comes with mindfulness…
December 14, 2018
We have had many cloudy days this week which added to shorter days. Holiday lights…
Brilliance wherever you find it
This fall I have been struck by how amazing the color has been in the…
Leslie’s Logos
Peace on earth and good will towards all. This is one of the traditional messages…
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is an awkward holiday for many of us, for we find it hard to…
Border Trip – Day 2
Visiting with Ollin Calli. Hearing the story of a female labor activist working with farmworkers.…
Day One – Tijuana Trip
We finish our first day with a conversation about the Doctrine of Discovery, the 15th…
Reflections on our common humanity
This week I attended my last meeting as a member of the Racial Justice Task…
Gathered in love in a world chasing hate…
I write this in a week in which it feels as if the world is…
Leslie’s Logos – November 2018
What carries you when times are hard? What keeps you engaged when action can seem…
A Message From Rev. Leslie Takahashi – 09-28-2018
Dear friends, These have been weeks that have been deeply disturbing for those of us…
What Connects You To Hope?
That is a question we need to ask ourselves every day. Or at least it's…
Expect the Unexpected
I don't think there are too many out there who would argue with me if…
Abundance As The Lens….
This month in our weekly vesper’s service, we are focusing on the spiritual practice of…
Some things are really just not yours to do
Last Saturday, while we were beginning our board retreat, a young hawk flew into the…
What Summer Teaches Us
Being the child of a public school teacher and university professor, the beginning of the…
Of Gifts and Blessings
Though this summer has been one in which I have not had many days completely…
On the Other Side of History
On the other side of History, we will say that we were there and that…
Abuse has a long half-life
These are the remarks I prepared for yesterday's press conference marking the Trump Administration's failure…
Are these our community values?
Sometimes people ask how systemic oppression works and how it is perpetuated. Today in Contra…
Leslies’s Logos – August 2018
For the third summer in a row, we see a nation heating up in ways…
A Message from Rev. Leslie Takahashi
This week has been one of great shock and sadness for many in our community…
This week my heart has been troubled…
This week my heart has been troubled by the growing revelations that our federal government…
Won’t you be my neighbor?
I would be lying if I said I wasn't very tired. This has been a…
Rejuvenation As a Goal
Some of us have the privilege of having something in mind in the coming months…
Leslie’s Logos – June 2018
When he was a toddler, my son, Liam used to like to make concoctions in…
Of angels and demons…
Something in our culture can't resist a dichotomy. The one I have been confronted with…
Knowing what we didn’t know
One of the lessons I never wanted to learn was how much I didn't know…
Sometimes the seeds of gratitude plant themselves in your heart much to your surprise…..
Been a bit of a week. Grappling with loss of beloved people. Car issues. Health…
Obedience to the Unenforceable
Want to challenge something? Say your concerns out loud? Make your opinion known? Speak out?…
Turning a Corner
Last week I went for a walk and I saw this beautiful little detail on…
Let the quail outrun you
Sometimes in the rush of our days, we forget to make some time to let…
April 6, 2018
This morning I took a walk down past my neighborhood into the unincorporated areas of…
Leslie’s Logos – April 2018
The visit from Westboro Baptist Church got me thinking about the idea of hell. Our…
April 15, 2018: “For The Common Good”
Our seventh principle calls upon us to affirm and promote respect for the interdependent web…
March 10, 2018
The last couple of weeks have found me reflecting on the things that matter most…
Blog Post – 3-3-2018
The dance of unknowing and then knowing I am realizing that there is a new…
Leslie’s Logos
Seen any beakers in the Sanctuary? Test tubes in the Children's Chapel? I ask because…
Break Not The Circle of Witness
Here is a thing I know. The world can break your heart and still not…
Savoring the Morning Stars
The days are getting longer. Soon it will be harder to see the morning stars…
Blog post 1/26/18
Sometimes things do not seem to go as planned. And still, possibilities for healing and…
Because sometimes you feel like a slug
On my morning walk, today, I saw a mother and her child stopped across the…
Leslie’s Logos – February 2018
How odd it is to live in this world where it seems when connecting with…
Living in An imperfect World
Once again this week reminds us of what an imperfect world we live in. Trying…
January 5, 2018
This week I am ensconced in my annual winter week of study leave which I…
Cleaning Up for 2017
There is a Japanese tradition that I really like which is that you begin the…
Living Our Values
The least discussed of our Make It So goals is the one to live our…
Joy is a great form of resilience.
Joy is a great form of resilience. In these days of holiday, I have been…
Learning What We’d Rather Not Learn
Dear Members and Friends, My colleague, the Rev. Elizabeth Nyugen writes: “Spirit, I would really…
A cup of tea. An act of friendship. A warm embrace from a friend.
For some of us, this presence might be harder than for others. We may have…
Conversation is a Blessing
This fall I have started a series of informal and open conversations which have been…
Feel Like Going Faster
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “In skating over thin ice, our safety is in our…
The Majesty of The Moon
On Thursday, I saw the moon set and also saw it rise. In the morning…
The Morning Light
A few minutes before the sun rose today, the light was lovely. Soft and yet…
Our Growth is Always Being Shaped by Events We Cannot Foresee
I was thinking about this walking with a friend in Civic Park this week. We…
I Hear You
I hear you. I hear that you feel as if you're being treated unfairly. I…
Aiming For The Target
For the last two days, my heart has been heavy thinking about the young lives…
20,000 Steps
This was posted on my Facebook page on the wee hours of last Monday morning....…
We Are Stronger Together
Dear Ones, Once again we find the summer coming to a close wearing the veils…
How Does Love Conquer Fear?
In a time of struggle and strife, when the world seems out of sorts with…
Random Acts of Resistance By Goats
This has been a summer of being reminded to find Joy where you can. Yesterday…
A Year in Refusal to Behave
This has been the year that refuses to behave. So we may have to. We…
Leslie’s Logos
What is the hope within your control? In these days when many feel powerless to…
How Do We Risk New Life and Growth?
In the spring, bright green shoots poking their way through the dark loam of soil.…
A letter to the Editor of the Washington Post (Submitted and Unlikely to be Published):
The article "Turmoil Over Diversity Strikes Unitarian Universalists," suggests that seeking to be diverse when…
MDUUC Remains A Sanctuary For Our Time
Dear Ones, Last week was a difficult week for our beloved Association. Three difficult events…
A Prayer for Our Times
Here is a prayer for our times: Spirit of life and love, God of many…
Let There Be Laughter 2/24/2017
“It was not the privileged and the fortunate who took in the Jews in France.…
We always have a choice. 1/27/2016
We always have a choice. Sometimes the world gives us what we want and sometimes…
Prayer for the people on this day. 1/20/2017
Spirit of life and love and unity, God of many names whose living form is…
Prayer in defense of acting when times seem hopeless. 01/14/2017
Spirit of life and love and unity, God of many names. Remind me to take…
Spirit of Life and Love — 1/10/2017
PICO National is asking that we have 20 days of prayer as we enter into…
Learning From Yoga – 12/21/2016
When I can now, I take time for yoga practice. I took my first yoga…
A Prayer – 12/13/2016
And here is a prayer for this time: Spirit of life, be with us in…
Countering Hate – 12/06/16
This week on National Public Radio, I heard a commentary about how the media can…
This About Advent
The Unitarian Universalist Association says this about Advent. “Advent is a season of expectant waiting…
In the Spirit of Love and Unity
Each year I have chosen an intentional signature to my email. In a medium in…
Recommit for love. Resist despair.
I say gently to all who are in shock this morning that I am not.…
Leslie’s Logos 11/1/2016
A visitor to our congregation asked me recently if we were talking about the election…
28 More Days to Resist Despair
A great many people are feeling a great deal of despair in our Nation right…
CO-GITATIONS October, 2016
Born and raised on the east coast, I always feel a little twinge at this time of…
Leslie’s Logos — September 2016
This past summer, I ruminated on our beloved Mount Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church. I reflected on what…
Leslie’s Logos — August, 2016
This summer I am taking time for rest and rejuvenation. I am especially grateful to the Board…