Funny how sometimes the universe says that things are not ours to do. Last summer…

As we get near the end of our [planned] outdoor services, I was reminded of…

One morning this week, my car went into the shop and I took that opportunity…

Flag Day was my grandfather’s birthday. Born as he was in the last years of…

I find myself happy when people tell me that they’re not coming to church these…

Dictionary.com defines “virtue signaling” this way: “the sharing of one's point of view on a…

Some of you know that when allowed to pick my “grandmother name,” I picked “kounna”…

Rarely have I seen a spring so beautiful. Even as we are learning more about…

This week we have seen heartbreak and hope again and again. The heartbreak continues as…

This week, tragedy in our midst has reminded me never to take life for granted.…

As we mark a year of meeting virtually It was a year ago that we…

I have only participated in a few long distance competitive events in my life. What…

I want to mark this as a quiet and rainy day, a good day for…

Like the breeze that blows the seeds, scattering them to the winds on their journeys,…

In my twenties, I spent a fair amount of time on boats. My neighbor had…

When I was living in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Hurricane Fran visited my neighborhood. Now…

Tears came to my eyes when I saw the headline, that our president-elect is calling…

How do we respond to a week such as this? A week when we, people…

Dear Friends, With our nation in our hearts, we are watching the events of this…

On this weekend, often the start of the winter holiday season: The sadness is there…and…

Been thinking about all of those struggling to keep calm and centered during this particular,…

This has been a chaotic and tiring week. So take a moment and remind yourself…

In the midst of a pandemic and right after excessive heat, to have the skies…

Now we are at 60 days and counting. And we are going to face some…

The devil is in the details. Like how strange things cause melancholy and touch that…

My 82-year-old mother has more emojis on her phone than I do. She sends me…

Dear Friends, As we go through this sheltering in place time, some weeks seem harder…

For the last few weeks, I have been thinking of the power of reframing. Our…

Here is the meditation we shared in our Vespers service this week. Join us for…

We have begun 2020 with a lot of bang! Our volunteers have been amazing, stepping…

This week so many of those I interacted with spoke to the frenetic pace and…

As this new year and decade dawn, I find myself in a more contemplative place…

When we had our Breath and Spirit retreat last weekend, we had a table of…

Here is a meditation for these days: How do we embrace the mystery and miracle…

Few occasions bear the mark of the times the way that Thanksgiving does. For the…

One thing about my job is I got to see how many people go the…

The last few weeks have brought many unsettling events with earthquakes and fires, smoke and…

Though the dry heat of the Santa Ana winds does not necessarily feel like fall,…

My father died in July 2016. In the ferment of that week, I somehow enabled…

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. So many…

So many have spoken about the interactions between the past and the present that to…

In a week in which the Bahamas is reeling from hurricane devastation, when September 11…

Last month when the moon cycled away into darkness, it seemed to take a long…

Okay, it seems counter-intuitive, however, I believe our new Climate Justice Team's leadership and our…

With the recent arrival of our special guest, I have become aware of a serious…

Think back on your favorite experiences of learning.  Who were you with? What was the…

As we enter into the summer, the need for restoring our spirits is clear. Three…

This is the time of the year when I am tired. So gratitude becomes especially…

I took a little time from the busy preparations for our Flower Communion and the…

Gratitude is one of the things that I am ending this year within my heart.…

This week I share some meditative thoughts from this week's vespers service: Renewal is a…

The week before Easter we had our own small renewal. Three new banners were mounted…

On Wednesday, I had the privilege of sitting with a woman who I will call…

Out in the Briones Open Space, Crystal the American Bully Breed pup and I went…

I did something I don't do very often. I changed the focus of my sermon…

Last week,  Betty Reid Soskin reminded us of the legacy of this congregation which has…

In her book, Sign My Name to Freedom, Betty Reid Soskin writes, "After some months…

This week, our association was involved in the conversation about our transgender kin and the…

The first occurred on Wednesday when our Elder Journey group had their meeting. Rain was…

On Monday, a segment on NPR caught my attention. Though its focus was on the…

“I like rain,” one member said, “But this is a lot of rain.”  No “but”s…

What a great and engaging conversation we had at the Counterweight Values class last Wednesday. …

Other religious bodies have a creed, that is there is a statement of belief which…

In honor of tomorrow's Women's March. The words of our ancestor, proto feminist Margaret Fuller…

As we enter into this 2019, one thing we know is that we need as…

This weekend between the holidays I took my dogs over to the Diablo Valley College…

A searing memory from my first real job was the time I gave my boss…

Peace is a quality of heart and a decision of presence. Peace comes with mindfulness…

We have had many cloudy days this week which added to shorter days. Holiday lights…

This fall I have been struck by how amazing the color has been in the…

Peace on earth and good will towards all. This is one of the traditional messages…

Thanksgiving is an awkward holiday for many of us, for we find it hard to…

Visiting with Ollin Calli. Hearing the story of a female labor activist working with farmworkers.…

We finish our first day with a conversation about the Doctrine of Discovery, the 15th…

This week I attended my last meeting as a member of the Racial Justice Task…

I write this in a week in which it feels as if the world is…

What carries you when times are hard? What keeps you engaged when action can seem…

In the name of all that is holy and sacred, that is precious and valued,…

Dear friends, These have been weeks that have been deeply disturbing for those of us…

That is a question we need to ask ourselves every day. Or at least it's…

I don't think there are too many out there who would argue with me if…

Last Saturday, while we were beginning our board retreat, a young hawk flew into the…

Being the child of a public school teacher and university professor, the beginning of the…

Though this summer has been one in which I have not had many days completely…

On the other side of History, we will say that we were there and that…

These are the remarks I prepared for yesterday's press conference marking the Trump Administration's failure…

Sometimes people ask how systemic oppression works and how it is perpetuated. Today in Contra…

For the third summer in a row, we see a nation heating up in ways…

What did you do on your vacation? For me, I spent my time trying to…

What an odd summer. It is as if we need to look away—and yet we…

This week has been one of great shock and sadness for many in our community…

This week my heart has been troubled by the growing revelations that our federal government…

I would be lying if I said I wasn't very tired. This has been a…

Some of us have the privilege of having something in mind in the coming months…

On the subject of Erasure... This week finds me mourning over the ways we amplify…

When he was a toddler, my son, Liam used to like to make concoctions in…

Something in our culture can't resist a dichotomy. The one I have been confronted with…

One of the lessons I never wanted to learn was how much I didn't know…

Been a bit of a week. Grappling with loss of beloved people. Car issues. Health…

Want to challenge something? Say your concerns out loud? Make your opinion known?  Speak out?…

Last week I went for a walk and I saw this beautiful little detail on…

Sometimes in the rush of our days, we forget to make some time to let…

This morning I took a walk down past my neighborhood into the unincorporated areas of…

The visit from Westboro Baptist Church got me thinking about the idea of hell. Our…

Our seventh principle calls upon us to affirm and promote respect for the interdependent web…

This week a lot of us have had reason to meditate on fear. Fear of…

The last couple of weeks have found me reflecting on the things that matter most…

The dance of unknowing and then knowing I am realizing that there is a new…

Seen any beakers in the Sanctuary? Test tubes in the Children's Chapel? I ask because…

Here is a thing I know. The world can break your heart and still not…

The days are getting longer. Soon it will be harder to see the morning stars…

Sometimes things do not seem to go as planned. And still, possibilities for healing and…

On my morning walk, today, I saw a mother and her child stopped across the…

How odd it is to live in this world where it seems when connecting with…

Once again this week reminds us of what an imperfect world we live in. Trying…

This week I am ensconced in my annual winter week of study leave which I…

There is a Japanese tradition that I really like which is that you begin the…

The least discussed of our Make It So goals is the one to live our…

Joy is a great form of resilience. In these days of holiday, I have been…

Dear Members and Friends, My colleague, the Rev. Elizabeth Nyugen writes: “Spirit, I would really…

For some of us, this presence might be harder than for others. We may have…

One of our Make It So goals is to live our values. I often think…

This fall I have started a series of informal and open conversations which have been…

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “In skating over thin ice, our safety is in our…

On Thursday, I saw the moon set and also saw it rise. In the morning…

A few minutes before the sun rose today, the light was lovely. Soft and yet…

I was thinking about this walking with a friend in Civic Park this week. We…

I hear you. I hear that you feel as if you're being treated unfairly. I…

For the last two days, my heart has been heavy thinking about the young lives…

This was posted on my Facebook page on the wee hours of last Monday morning....…

Dear Ones, Once again we find the summer coming to a close wearing the veils…

In a time of struggle and strife, when the world seems out of sorts with…

This has been a summer of being reminded to find Joy where you can. Yesterday…

This has been the year that refuses to behave. So we may have to. We…

What is the hope within your control? In these days when many feel powerless to…

In the spring, bright green shoots poking their way through the dark loam of soil.…

The article "Turmoil Over Diversity Strikes Unitarian Universalists," suggests that seeking to be diverse when…

Dear Ones, Last week was a difficult week for our beloved Association. Three difficult events…

Here is a prayer for our times: Spirit of life and love, God of many…

“It was not the privileged and the fortunate who took in the Jews in France.…

We always have a choice. Sometimes the world gives us what we want and sometimes…

Spirit of life and love and unity, God of many names whose living form is…

Spirit of life and love and unity, God of many names. Remind me to take…

PICO National is asking that we have 20 days of prayer as we enter into…

When I can now, I take time for yoga practice.  I took my first yoga…

And here is a prayer for this time: Spirit of life, be with us in…

This week on National Public Radio, I heard a commentary about how the media can…

The Unitarian Universalist Association says this about Advent.  “Advent is a season of expectant waiting…

Each year I have chosen an intentional signature to my email.  In a medium in…

I say gently to all who are in shock this morning that I am not.…

A visitor to our congregation asked me recently if we were talking about the election…

A great many people are feeling a great deal of despair in our Nation right…

Born and raised on the east coast, I always feel a little twinge at this time of…

This past summer, I ruminated on our beloved Mount Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church. I reflected on what…

This summer I am taking time for rest and rejuvenation. I am especially grateful to the Board…