UU Asheville Weekly Message

As a Jew, the Ten Days of Awe, also known as "Aseret Yemei Teshuvah," is a period of deep introspection and repentance for myself as well as other Jews around the world.  These ten days span from Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement....

      The Power of Partnerships One of our UU Asheville Justice Ministry partners is The Unitarian Universalist Ministry of North Carolina (UUJMNC -Yes, we love acronyms! Here is a link to my acronym sheet cheat. Please submit entries that are missing!)...

If you haven’t had a chance to notice yet, there’s a sign on my office door at the church that has these words from my friend, the author Rivera Sun: Be kind. Be connected. Be unafraid. Sometimes you really don’t need a sermon - just a wise friend reminding you of...

As we approach the start of a brand new church year, I am thinking about the future, of course. It is literally part of my job to plan for the future. My co-conspirator Jen Johnson and I have been planning for the launch of the new Religious Exploration year since...

As schools start to open their doors, a new season begins. As an academic, I’ve always appreciated how UU churches follow the same calendar. Summer offers time off for staff and leaders; the congregation enjoys different speakers in the pulpit, church life slows down....

Last month I attended a workshop on reparations at the YWCA sponsored by the Racial Justice Coalition. I learned a lot I did not know about the reparations process in Asheville and the history of reparations in the US and abroad. Did you know that in 1862 President...

The speed limit in our new neighborhood is 15 miles per hour. Now, this is not a limit set by some distant bureaucracy; this is a very intentional choice of the close-knit neighborhood tucked in these quiet mountain woods. It sets the expectation that as you enter,...

  In September 2017, Hurricane Irma hit South Florida. My son Taber ~ who was 6 years old at the time ~ and I drove to Asheville. I had been invited to speak here ~ to lead a workshop on Holding Space for Pregnancy Loss. Little did we know that a weekend workshop...

I’ve been taking the summer off from church.  Well, maybe not completely – I’ve partaken in a few services, had two Board meetings, and dealt with an issue or two that popped up during this time of relaxation.  Nothing major, though.  From my perspective, this past...

It’s Summertime. That means a new church year will begin soon. What does that mean? For one thing, our growing family of new members are working to get to know us. And our new minister has about 450 new Best Friends to get to know! Not easy for anyone knew getting...

This past week, The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) hosted the 62nd General Assembly (GA) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a first-timer to GA, I was dazzled to see thousands of Unitarian Universalists coming together, in the City of Bridges, to conduct their...

June has been the month to express gratitude.  As the final school bus passed my house on a recent June afternoon, I silently thanked the teachers who made me…those teachers who made me think, who pushed me to do better than I thought I could, who showed kindness to...

Thank you! A highlight of this year has been the vote to adopt the 8th Principle at UU Asheville. Post-vote, our journey continues. Maybe it is more of a trek: arduous and often slow, as we work together to co-create Beloved Community within and beyond these four...

Interim Ministry is an important and challenging time for a Congregation. Add the challenges of the COVID pandemic and the unexpected and heartbreaking news of the passing of Rev. Mark Ward and you have a real test of a Congregation and Interim Minister. As we look...