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This is Water
My friend David Hackett stopped by the office today, to briefly ponder the modern day dilemma of chronic screen-time. And on his way out, he directed me to a youtube video I had to check out. Ironic, no? And yet, …
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Flower Power
On Sunday, May 1, our Board of Parish Ministry invites us to worship services centered in the theme, The Wisdom of Flowers. The structure of the service is Unitarian Universalist in its origins and often called a “Flower Communion,” because …
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Traveling Shoes
It’s time to lace up those travelling shoes again and get ready to hit the road. It’s time to pack up the van and get ready to head on down to Warren Willis Camp for yet another installment of the …
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April is Sexual Assault Awareness month
Part of our responsibility and opportunity as a spiritual community is to nurture health and wholeness for our congregation and our community. All of us are individuals who live with considerable challenges of all kinds. And as well, the resiliency …
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Love…Endures All Things
Sabbath doesn’t always bring rest. And Easter doesn’t always remind me of resurrection. Sometimes, the message of Easter is simply, “endure.” Not the most hope-filled word, I know. But sometimes, it is all we can do. It was hard not …
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A Prayer for Gainesville
Like many of you, I’ve been heartbroken this week. It is hard to imagine Easter arriving by Sunday, but I was also reminded that heartbreak is our natural companion during Holy Week. Any words I could offer feel inadequate, but …
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Holy Week Carpets
When I lived in Honduras, the streets of the town would be decorated for Semana Santa, Holy Week. The long street up to the cathedral door was impossibly pocked with holes and rocks, and in the rainy season, normally sloshed …
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Between the World and Me
Supposedly Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote his book, Between the World and Me for his son. But I’m not sure that’s accurate. In fact, I’m pretty sure he wrote it for me. As I look back through my copy of Between the …
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Helping God Think
In the fall we completed an All-Church Survey that helped to discern three priorities the congregation has for the direction of our life together over the next three years. Those priorities named by UCG respondents to the Survey had to …
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“An ABCD”
This past Sunday I preached about the greatest birthday gift I ever gave myself. It was when I turned 40 years old, and I knew I wanted to do something epic. So I asked all of my friends the whole …
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Sacred Space
I have started taking the long way to get places. I don’t go too far off course, but if I can head a couple blocks in the wrong direction before I loop back toward home or the office, I’ll do …
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352 Walls
Over the past many months, artists from around the world have been transforming our city walls into giant works of art here in Gainesville, Florida. 352walls has transformed many of our downtown buildings into eye-catching, mind blowing and head scratching …