During our November Offering Outreach—where we split our congregation's offertory collection equally with a partner nonprofit—we supported Providence Relief Organization (Gondviselés) in their critical work with Ukrainian refugees.The recent letter from our their director, Attila Vagyas, reveals how our congregation's generosity is providing transformative aid. Read on to see the inspiring details...

Do you ever wonder why music sounds the way it does?On the surface, it's a funny thought experiment. But why, for example, do we have . . . say . . . orchestras? String quartets? Jazz or rock bands? Or the particular instruments that we know? The melodies and harmonies? Scales, keys, rhythms, and meters?Not unlike the theory of evolution that explains the emergence of our species—from single-cellu...

Okay, why do we, Unitarian Universalists, celebrate Christmas?Historically, both Unitarians and Universalists considered themselves Christians. Heretical Christians, but nonetheless, those are our religious roots.Currently, Unitarian Universalism is a Big Tent religion. We have room in this big theological tent for people who identify as Christians, but we also have room for people who emphaticall...

The trajectory from darkness to light is a philosophical throughline of music history. Out of murkiness, turbulence, and minor key emerges the iconic "Ode to Joy" in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. From the harrowing, musical manifestations of grief upon the loss of both his wife and mentor, respectively, Joseph Suk composes a bright, serene, "heavenly" final movement to his Asrael Symphony. Camille S...

When is it appropriate to start celebrating Christmas?Are you one of the no-Christmas-till-after-Thanksgiving people? A casual, put-up-the-tree-the-week-before person? Or do you get excited to see Santas and garlands appearing in retailers before Halloween? If you knew nothing about me but my heritage, my theology, and my affinity for celebrating each respective holiday, you might have been surpri...