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November 21, 2021 by Linda A. Dove As you all know, one of the earliest Thanksgiving celebrations was in October 1621 when the Plymouth colonists, together with the Wampanoag people, gave thanks for the harvest. Or perhaps it was earlier in Virginia in 1619, or later in Winthrop’s Massachussets in 1637, or even President Lincoln’s Union victory celebration in 1863. But nowadays, we celebrate the holiday this week, the fourth Thursday in November, thanks to FDR’s official edic

by Linda A. Dove September 26, 2021 Good morning. Our long absence from HUU has made me realize how attached I am to our schoolhouse in its lovely gardens and location. This gets me thinking about the physical aspect of church buildings, what religious meanings they convey, and how they do it. My mother and I used to explore old churches in England. She loved the modest ones in country villages—every one unique in style. We also visited the early-Gothic cathedrals like Lincol

By Dan Spitzner September 19, 2021 Calling the Four Directions:  Text by Jane Carnwath. Read by Sue Miller. Grandmother and Grandfather of the EAST -- Spirits of the morning, of inspiration, of new beginnings. We ask you to give us your clarity of thought, your quickness, your creativity, and your courage. Grandmother and Grandfather of the SOUTH -- Spirits of joy and spontaneity, of the day at its height. Grant us your gifts of deep emotion, of empathy, of warm hearts and of

by J. Barkley Rosser, Jr. August 15, 2021 It has been widely argued that New England transcendentalism was the first genuinely Americanintellectual movement, strongly influencing philosophy, theology, politics, and literature. Many date its clear beginning to the first meeting of the Transcendental Club on September 12, 1836, never really a club rather than a series of meetings. That first meeting had only three participants: two Unitarian  ministers, Frederic Henry Hedge who

Presented by Chris Edwards and Robin McNallie July 4, 2021 Video: Democracy, by Leonard Cohen Chalice reading: Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are people who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning; they want the ocean without the awful roar of its waters. Power concedes nothing without a demand; it never did and it never will. Frederick Douglass I: On The 1619 Project (CE) -- In August, 1619, a