Minister’s Blog
Rev. Brian’s Thoughts on his Upcoming Sabbatical
January 30, 2026I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to take my first sabbatical in February. I am now in my eighteenth year of ministry – gulp – and this is my first sabbatical due to the nature of my other ministries. My overwhelming feeling is ...more...Can Belonging Be Built?
September 1, 2025Our monthly theme for September of Building Belonging is challenging, especially the “building” part. How do we build a greater sense of belonging to a community for ourselves and others? There are many ways to build barriers to belonging for others and myself. Humans can ...more...Cultivating Joy
April 1, 2025“Always remember, Joy is not incidental to your spiritual quest. It is vital. So cultivate it.” 18th Century Polish-Lithuanian Rabbi Nachman who lived in what now is Ukraine. I love the idea of Joy being vital to our spiritual life. Given the state of our world, ...more...For the Beauty of the Earth
January 30, 2025Rachel Naomi Remen “We are not called to fix the world because it is broken. We’re here to serve it, because it’s holy.” For the Beauty of the Earth, hymn 21 in our Hymnal, is one of my favorite hymns. A beautiful song of praise and ...more...Inviting the Difficult Conversation
September 1, 2024“Why wasn’t I invited?” Many of us may recall asking this of the adults in our life when we were children or teenagers. We hear about the party invitations handed out and our expectations are raised about receiving an invite which never comes. We plead ...more...Interdependence: the Sacred Space Between Us
April 1, 2024Interdependence has been at the heart of Unitarian Universalism for the last 40 years if not longer. Our seventh principle “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part” is important to many of us and gives a spiritual imperative ...more...Honoring Our Board Leadership at UUFRC
April 1, 2023When you have a bunch of Unitarian Universalists in a room you are guaranteed to have more opinions than people. So it was with a certain trepidation that I asked nine of our past UUFRC Board Presidents and our current Board President the following questions: ...more...Belonging to a Movement
September 1, 2022Paraphrasing the great comedian Groucho Marx “I don’t want to be part of any religious movement that would have me.” Many Unitarian Universalists have a tender relationship with being a member of a local religious community and an even more tenuous relationship with our larger ...more...The Complexities for Me of our Unitarian Universalist General Assembly
September 1, 2021This was my 10th General Assembly and was unique with it being online. Like all online meetings there is something powerful that is missing compared to in person gatherings. There was also something beautiful in the greater accessibility for a wider range of people ...more...Why Does a Church Need a Strategic Plan?
April 1, 2021“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” Lewis Carroll, paraphrased from his book Alice in Wonderland. Our religious community has embarked on developing a Strategic Plan, which may be new to many of us. What is a strategic plan and ...more...The Meaning of Stewardship
March 1, 2021Stewardship may be one of the most troubling and misunderstood words used in the Church. Okay, there might be more troubling words for a Unitarian Universalist but stewardship can certainly be misunderstood. Superficially, stewardship can seem like just a fancy way of saying the church ...more...Facing Uncertainty – How We Learn
September 1, 2020Teaching a five year old to ride a bike is an interesting experience. You set the appropriate expectations, provide comfort in the hardship and uncertainty, then celebrate the joy of success together. It was a September afternoon 12 years ago, my daughter Isla and I ...more...
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