March 3, 2020 Dear Follen Members and Friends, As infections from the COVID-19 coronavirus spread, it is important that we also spread information on how to prepare for and prevent this disease in our community and congregation. There is information about COVID-19 everywhere; two excellent resources are a recent New York Times podcast, and … Continued
January – Perspective “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.” That’s what the side-view mirror in the car tells us every time we check our blind spots. This exercise is to check your blind spots—that is, the ones you know about. How has a change in perspective (or in knowledge, experience, age, authority, etc) … Continued
October Spiritual Exercise: Faith Let’s reflect on a very personal component of faith. Have you ever had a mystical experience? An experience, most likely quite brief, in which you felt something like: one-ness, connectedness, euphoria, deep joy, deep peace, epiphany, ecstasy, flight, presence, understanding, communion with God, ultimate reality, oceanic feeling? (To list just … Continued
Regret; repent; return; renew; and begin again. In honor of the Jewish holy time of Rosh Hashanah, beginning this month on September 29, have an encounter with the ritual Tashlich, Hebrew for “cast off.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tashlikh. You can do this ritual on your own, or with your covenant group. (Rev. Claire does it with her … Continued
I love Question Box Sunday. Below is the list of questions, some from adults, some from kids! To see my answers to the first ten questions, watch the video here! Answered: What about Follen keeps you up at night? Before you were a minister, why did you go to church? How do you define “prayer”? … 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
Meet Tom Schade The Worship and Music Action Team and staff are delighted to announce that Rev. Tom Schade will serve as our sabbatical minister while Rev. Claire takes her leave this summer and fall. Tom comes with a lot of experience in UU ministry. He served as a minister at First Unitarian … Continued
Dear Follen, This month’s theme is not just a word; it is an imperative! “Wake Up!” What does that mean to me? Well, I was inspired first by Easter, which is early this year, March 27. The Easter story is one of waking up from darkness and death into world full of love and miracles. What are the … Continued
Dear Follen, During our multigenerational service this month, I shared a reading by Robert Fulghum. He tells a story about two young guys who are given an extra-credit challenge by their philosophy professor: Do something unique and memorable – not dangerous or foolish, but something creative, inventive and instructive. Write it up and explain what was learned and how … Continued
