I recently saw a post including the wonderful blessing by the poet, artist,  and Methodist minister, Jan Richardson called, “Beloved Is Where We Begin.,” from her beautiful and inspiring book, Circle of Grace. I shall post it further in this blog piece. But it got me thinking about how often we think we are not the beloved, not loved by God, mostly tolerated as long…

We have just celebrated the birth of Jesus, but it is important to remember who the baby would grow up to be, and the radical nature of his inclusiveness and embrace of all people. It was inclusiveness that shocked some of his early followers, but his message is as relevant today as it was then. Here is a link to an essay…

By Andrea Ayvazian Twelve words. In one of my favorite books, “Naked Spirituality,” Brian McLaren presents a framework for understanding the spiritual life, offering up 12 words that can begin simple prayers and eventually anchor an ongoing meditative practice. I give “Naked Spirituality” to anyone who tells me they don’t know how to pray. McLaren’s 12 words can inspire simple prayers that…

By Andrea Ayvazian The Biden-Harris duo is going to win the election. All the polls show that Biden has a commanding lead, and many of Trump’s core constituents are turning against him as the pandemic rages on. So this column is not about the necessity of “voting like your life depends on it”— we got that. It is not about how we…

By ANNIE TURNERA sermon delivered at Haydenville Congregational Church, September 13, 2020 WE ARE GOING TO START OUT ON A LOW NOTE, BUT I PROMISE YOU—WITH ALL MY HEART AND SOUL THAT WE WILL END ON A HIGH NOTE. I WANT TO SHARE ONE OF MY FAVORITE POEMS BY WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS TO START MY SERMON, WHERE WE LOOK AT THE TRULY…