A yearning within reach Sabbath is, quite simply, a day of rest, when you put down “duty” and pick up “joy.” Give yourself at least one—if not many—sabbath days this month. What if you started each day saying yes to the yearning of your heart? Would you spend more time outside? Would you rest in … Continued
Rev. Claire Feingold Thoryn In the first books of the Bible, God spends six jam-packed days in the throes of creation, and then on the seventh day, God rests. That rest must have felt pretty good, because later, God includes rest in the 10 commandments, created to help humans live good lives. The commandments tell … Continued
Revisiting Touchstones—and recommitting to them—in two parts. Part 1: Go back to your personal mission statement you created or chose in October. How well have you kept your promises to yourself? What has been especially hard? Easy? What would you change about it now? Part 2: Re-read Follen’s Behavioral Covenant: We, the members and friends … Continued
During April school vacation, twenty of our high school youth group members and four adult chaperones have gone to New Orleans to work on rebuilding projects and learning about social justice. Follow their adventures in the NOLA News Blog, written by Liana Raberg and Brian Sewell (left), FUUY Coordinators. Click on any photos to enlarge. … Continued
by Beryl Aschenberg, Director of Religious Education One of the many facets of Unitarian Universalism that I appreciate is that we have such a great deal of theological diversity, and yet we are called together in love and support as we figure out our ways of being present in the world. That said, I have … Continued
Reflect and come to your group ready to share: what was something that was scandalous and shocking in your youth but now just…isn’t? When it comes to things like appearance, gender expression, sexual orientation, divorce, relationship choices, job choices, and many other things—what scandals do you remember from your earlier life that you have a … Continued
Hello all you dear folks who are leading Follen this year, I wanted you to know that I have recently decided to give $6,000 to Follen Church to underwrite Vivian Montgomery’s Urban Church Music Friendships Initiative. I’ve been following the budget belt-tightening worries and – because I care so much about helping all of our … Continued
Follen Youth Participate in Homelessness Awareness/Service through Boston’s City Reach Program On the second weekend of March 2019, 14 youth members of the Follen UU Youth (FUUY) Group, along with their Youth Program Coordinators and the Director of Religious Education, made their way to Boston to participate in the City Reach program, sponsored by … Continued
Humble Practices Identify one way this month to be “uniquely humble.” The options are endless: · Spend an hour one evening looking up at the stars and contemplate how small—and how lucky—you are; · Rather than giving your coworkers advice, humbly ask your coworkers for advice, for a change; · Take a risk and humbly … Continued
TIPS FOR TALKING TO CHILDREN ABOUT RACE AND RACISM From Beryl Aschenberg, Director of Religious Education One of the things that attracted me to Follen Church was the commitment to become an “intentionally and proactively antiracist congregation.” Years of living in Milwaukee, WI- named the most segregated city in the United States- has convinced … Continued
