“Faith Matters” blog

by Associate Minister Rev. Laura Horton-Ludwig. Thank you so much for the warm and wonderful send-off you offered me on Sunday. How good it was to be together and share so many hugs and good wishes. And the presents you gave me are so beautiful – the stunning glass singing bowl and the scrapbook with […]

by Senior Minister Rev. David A. Miller. Well, here we are at summer. It seems like the year flew by. It was a challenging year as events pulled our attention in one direction and then another. And with every news story and every tweet, it started all over again. So, we are going to work […]

by Senior Minister Rev. David A. Miller. “White Supremacist in Portland kills two men who tried to stop his racist rants” “LeBron James’ house spray-painted with a racial slur …” “White House invites literally anyone to refuse to cover birth control” “Noose found inside Smithsonian’s African-American History Museum” “World leaders reaffirm commitment to fighting climate […]

by Director of Religious Exploration Linnea Nelson. It all began with looking for volunteer opportunities for our youth. Ann Wood and Kerry Fraser had deep connections with Beacon House, a nonprofit, community-based organization that provides tutoring, mentoring, cultural, athletic, recreation and nutrition programs to at-risk, low-income children, ages 5-18, who reside in and around the […]

Dear UUCF Community, With a heart full of love and appreciation for you all, I write to share some important news. After 6 wonderful years with UUCF, I have decided to accept the invitation of the Williamsburg (VA) Unitarian Universalists to become their ministerial candidate. This means that, if things go as we expect, I […]

by Laurie Cunningham, Religious Exploration Committee co-chair. I’ve always felt the best way to change the world is from the ground up. So often in life, we deal with people who have been constructed and shaped by others, without solid foundations. But as Religious Exploration teachers at UUCF, we have an amazing opportunity to effect […]

by Intern Minister McKinley Sims. So … Easter. The most important holiday in the Christian church year, usually corresponding to the Jewish festival week of Pesach/Passover, celebrates the story of Jesus of Nazareth’s miraculous resurrection three days after a horrific public execution. The words of the Christian Scriptures illustrate how a group of women went […]

by Senior Minister Rev. David A. Miller. When I was young, I remember going to the synagogue with my dad in Skokie, IL, where after services sometimes we would have lox and bagels and chocolate milk. It was a wonderful ritual. Skokie was a white Jewish enclave where my temple was located but I lived […]

A letter from Rev. David A. Miller, Rev. Laura Horton-Ludwig and Intern Minister McKinley Sims. Today, as a result of a series of events within our Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), Peter Morales resigned as president of the UUA. We want to share with you our best understanding of what led to this decision, and to […]

by Senior Minister Rev. David A. Miller. With huge excitement and anticipation, I have the privilege of announcing the recipient of UUCF’s Innovation Fund grant. Last Tuesday night, after a 9-month review process, the UUCF Board of Directors approved a proposal for a UUCF-sponsored, off-campus effort targeted to young adults (20s and 30s). The mission […]

by Kaye Cook, Co-leader, Racial Justice Steering Committee. From a young age, I had a strong sense of fairness and equity. Luckily, I was fortunate to work in the field of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) in the federal government for most of my career. When I retired in February 2014, I was looking for a […]

by Lay Minister for Worship and Arts Susan Bennett. In turbulent times like the ones we find ourselves in the midst of now, it can seem almost impossible to stay balanced and centered. Perhaps like me, you find yourself feeling alternately sad, frightened, angry and confused about where to best put your energies. So many […]

by Director of Religious Exploration Linnea Nelson. Last summer as I looked through our RE cupboards of toys for young children, I wondered if we might be able to create a model of our beautiful Sanctuary for our 4- and 5-year-olds. Their curriculum introduces them to our community members, ministers, grounds and buildings that make […]

by Rev. David A. Miller. Friday night I said the blessing at UUCF’s Hypothermia Shelter dinner. Afterward, as I walked out in the freezing cold wind, I couldn’t help but feel deep sadness. We have a promise that holds this country together. It is a promise to those who have nowhere to sleep and a […]

by Intern Minister McKinley Sims. I’ve been doing some genealogical research this month. It wasn’t my first choice of how to spend my free time, but my mother, the inimitable Frankie B., put me onto it because she’s been having scary dreams about the future of our country. She claims that her great-grandmother, my great-great-grandmother, […]

by Director of Music & Arts Laura Weiss. I am 7 years old and I can hear my mother in the kitchen. She is chopping vegetables for, no doubt, one of her delicious soups and I can smell the aroma waft into the living room. The smell is the only thing that brings me into […]

by Lay Minister for Caring & Wellness Linda Zack. “It is in community that we come to see God in the other. It is in community that we see our own emptiness filled up. It is community that calls me beyond the pinched horizons of my own life, my own country, my own race, and […]

by Associate Minister Rev. Laura Horton-Ludwig. “The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.” -Henry Miller I held the tiny clementine in my hand. Bright orange skin, with that marvelous scent of citrus zest teasing my nose. Seven of us […]

by Rev. David A. Miller. As we enter the uncharted waters of this post-election world – with so many uncertainties that can lead to stress and anxiety – I feel it’s important for us to be gentle with each other. Frustration with the status of the world may lead to frustration in our personal or […]

by Dave Wiemer, Generosity Team member. Like many of you, I am still struggling to process the results of Tuesday’s presidential election. In discussing the outcome with our children, my wife, Heather, and I assured them that they were safe and loved. We assured them that we would fight injustice and find ways to serve […]

by Cheryl Sadowski, Lay Minister for Adult Spiritual Development. Do you remember the joy of kaleidoscopes? – the long tubes pointing to a tapestry of light and color that organizes and reorganizes itself into a new picture with each twist of your hand? When you twist a kaleidoscope all the way around, you occasionally return […]

by Lay Minister for Social Justice Wini Atlas. Unitarian Universalists have worked to bend the arc of the universe toward justice throughout our history. In 1850, transcendentalist Unitarian minister Theodore Parker, a noted abolitionist, wrote: “I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little […]

by Laura Weiss. We have all experienced some type of music and art that moved us; that external and cathartic experience that can change us for a lifetime. It transforms us, calms us, reminds us, captivates our soul. Our body chemistry actually changes. Our emotions well up. We feel the ecstasy of loss of control, […]

I watched the Ken Burns documentary “Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War” on PBS Tuesday night. From the earliest age, growing up Jewish near Skokie, IL, a place with the highest population of Holocaust survivors anywhere besides Israel, I was aware of anti-immigrant prejudice and political fascism and recognized that some lives were valued more […]

by Senior Minister Rev. David A. Miller. As we return to UUCF for the new congregational year, it has been a hot summer with so much going on in the world. I am looking forward to a wonderful year here at UUCF. I am so excited about having a year under our belts together and […]