Lughnasadh or Lammas also known as Bread Mass (Loaf Mass Day) to Christians is only a few short days away. As you may know, it is the first of three harvest festivals. The second is Mabon or Alban Elfed in Druidic known to mudanes only as the Autumn Equinox; the last Samhain. Additionally, Lughnasadh is one of the four fire festivals celebrated by the Celts which include Samhain, Imbolc and Bealtaine. Although it is a fire festival, fire or light... Read more
Recently, the delegates at the Unitarian Universalist Association’s General Assembly passed the newly revised Article II of their bylaws. Having attended the General Assembly since before this review began I was watching the process with a close eye. The vote passed with 2025 (80.2 percent) of the delegates approving it. Now this blog is not a discussion on Article II necessarily, but one on changes. Many UUs are not happy with these changes, that the UUA is dropping the seven... Read more
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” said John Lennon, in a very true statement. This happened to me recently. I had no car for the week of Beltaine, so I was unable to lug my ritual tools with me. Additionally, most of my Sacred Wheel CUUPs members had timing issues that week as well. So, holding a ritual at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair or even just virtually, just wasn’t happening. I was... Read more
Monday, April 22 is Earth Day once again….but I say it’s every day. Every single day we should be Earth conscious in what we do. Earth Day itself has become too commercial in my opinion. This is when the big stores act like they are doing something important. “Come, shop with me and get a free reusable bag.” OK, but think about what the store is doing for the environment besides offering free reusable bags. I bet not much. The... Read more
Recently, the news reported that former U.S. president Donald Trump is selling Bibles. Get your corrupted Bible here! He said every American should have them. This is probably the most intelligent thing he’s ever publicly said. However, he shoved his foot in his mouth immediately afterwards, by saying “Make America Pray Again.” Um, no thank you, not from that book or any of its versions. However, yes the Bible should probably be on hand, whether in your house or at... Read more
I can’t; you can’t; we can’t; they can’t.… This wording is extremely harmful. Whoever said “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words would never harm me” never was told those words. These words can be detrimental at best; highly impairing at worst. The extent of harm is far greater than one thinks. The mental abuse it can cause hearing it and repeating it to yourself can last years, or a lifetime. When you tell yourself you can’t, you... Read more
So, Imbolc is around the corner. My CUUPs group Sacred Wheel celebrated it this past Saturday, Jan. 27. We gathered in person and through Zoom at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair, New Jersey for our ritual. Some may say that this is a bit too early to celebrate Imbolc. However, our ancestors never had a calendar to go by back then. Christians celebrate Candlemas and in the United States and Canada it is Groundhog Day. Groundhog Day is... Read more
Magic is everywhere. In December, the Soul Matters theme was mystery. If you ask me, that is only the beginning. Starting in December, there is the mystery of Santa Claus and his famous reindeer. Some people won’t allow their children to believe in him because they claim he is Christian. Catholics do refer to him as the monk, St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children. Around 280 C.E, St. Nicholas was born in the village of Patara, near Myra in... Read more
Often I hear, “You’re a witch! So you’re Wiccan…” This is only the beginning. This is how they relate the two. Words such as witch, warlock, heathen, spells, ritual and even, yes, Pagan and Wicca have different meanings than what’s taught. First off, before I even get into that, I’m going to jump back to “warlock.” No, men practicing Witchcraft are not warlocks, they are witches, just like women. The English version of a Scottish word, Warlock, on the other... Read more
The Rev. Anya Sammler-Michael, senior co-minister at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair, New Jersey asked, “When did you become a UU?” What she meant was not when we signed our names to the membership registry, but to think further back. She gave us a piece of her history, including when she felt she became a UU. She discussed in her sermon some of those signs that pointed her in that direction. Of course, this made me think about myself... Read more
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