November DRE Column: Spiritual Care in Times of Stress, Cynthia Westby
The holiday season is upon us and with it comes, for many of us, a lot of stress and challenge. I encourage us to cultivate some form of compassion and/or self-love practice to support us as we move through this busy time of year. In addition to offering yourself kindness
Continue readingMinister’s Musings Among the Mountains – Week of November 6
I write this column in Providence, Rhode Island as autumn deepens here in New England. Weather was a strong topic of conversation over too many helpings of fried clams. People agreed the weather was strange but no agreement on what it really meant. The same was true if the conversations
Continue readingReligious Exploration – Cynthia Westby, DRE October Column
In the world of Religious Exploration we DREs are responsible for finding creative ways to encourage, inspire and support the work of faith exploration and formation at home and at church. As Westside’s RE program evolves to keep pace with the evolution of the needs and availability of children, volunteers
Continue readingMinister’s Musings Among the Mountains – Week of October 16
“Holidays aren’t just about feasting and fun” Holidays are serious matters. The Jewish high holidays are underway this fall. Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) was on September 20-22. Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) took place on September 29-30; Sukkot (called the Time of Rejoicing) has run from October
Continue readingMinister’s Musings Among the Mountains – Week of October 9
“Teach-in – Wasn’t that a ‘60’s thing?” Yes, it was and still is a powerful way to learn and discern in community. It will be led by Eastshore UU DRE Aisha Hauser who is one of the many powerful voices in the emerging Unitarian Universalism of the 21st century. Granted,
Continue readingWe’re In This Together – Board Retreat Summarized
A Message from Patti McCall, Board President As promised, my message this month is about the goals your Board of Trustees have set for themselves for our year together. First, though I need to thank John Britt who expertly and compassionately wrangled, I mean, facilitated the Board and Rev. Alex
Continue readingWelcome to the 2017-18 RE Year! -Cynthia Westby, DRE
The new RE year is upon us!! Woohoo! Several themes will run through this RE year: social justice, diversity, and inclusivity. We are also working with an evolving reality for religious exploration, for both WSUU children and within the UU world. Some of the evolutionary forces are discussed in a
Continue readingMinister’s Musing Amoung the Mountains – Week of September 18
This week I am thinking with great sadness about Lewis Brancati and his family including the whole family of Westside UU Congregation. A life changes between one moment and the next and then we all must adapt to those new circumstances. It can happen to a 3-day old infant or
Continue reading