May 5, 2024 by Rev. Joanna Fontaine Crawford. Huzzah! Renaissance Fairs have become a popular event across the United States, with costuming, crafts, foods, and shows. The history they offer of Renaissance times is … eh, a bit imprecise. But the history of the fairs themselves is one of progressive values and counter-cultural resistance to […]
April 14, 2024 by Rev. Joanna Fontaine Crawford. What does “sin” mean to a Unitarian Universalist? As we determine our own understanding of missing the mark, we consider what Gandhi saw as the 7 sins.
April 7, 2024 by Rev. Joanna Fontaine Crawford. Humans are meaning-making machines, and we have been ascribing meaning to solar eclipses probably since the first one a human experienced. As we prepare to be in the path of totality, what meaning will we make?
March 31, 2024 by Rev. Joanna Fontaine Crawford. Do we believe people when they explain who they are (or aren’t?) This year, Easter and the Transgender Day of Visibility fall on the same day. Let us explore the christology of Unitarian Universalism and the issue of allowing all individuals to define themselves.
March 17, 2024 by Rev. Joanna Fontaine Crawford. There are many religious traditions that put their beliefs and energies towards an after-death reality. In Unitarian Universalism, our focus is on what we can create today.
March 10, 2024 by Rev. Joanna Fontaine Crawford. It’s been four years since the beginning of the pandemic lockdown. Let’s face those memories, good and bad, together, and process through some of what we may still be carrying.
March 3, 2024 by Rev. Joanna Fontaine Crawford The television series, “The Good Place” took us on a 4 season journey through the afterlife, asking eschatological (the branch of systematic theology dealing with “end things) questions. How does Universalism view final destiny?
February 18, 2024 by Rev. Joanna Fontaine Crawford. Whether you are on the right or the left side of the political spectrum, our Puritan ancestors are still shaping how we view human nature. Resist and reject!
February 11, 2024 by Rev. Joanna Fontaine Crawford. Mardi Gras is the Tuesday, Feb. 13, traditionally seen as the last party before the six weeks of the sacrifices for Lent. The traditional Christian Lent is rooted in the valorization of suffering. Is there another way to engage this time?
February 4, 2024 by Rev. Joanna Fontaine Crawford. What does it mean to “fix” another person? And are we really “broken”? Unitarian Universalism historically rejects the doctrine of original sin. So what do we believe about the nature of being human?