by Rev. Roger Bertschausen

This fall I’ve talked about pilgrimage and grace as important cornerstones of my spirituality. Another one is place. Connection to place is very significant to me. As I contemplate leaving a place I’ve lived for half my life and moving to a new place, I am especially pondering connection to place in my heart.

by Rev. Roger Bertschausen

by Rev. Leah Hart-Landsberg

At this time of year it seems like all corners of the world are pushing gratitude as the solution to any problem imaginable. Does it ever grate on your nerves, just a little? Enforced gratitude can backfire, making us feel ashamed that we’re not sublimely happy about everything all the time.

By Rev. Michael Schuler

Many of us feel a deep-seated need to exert control over our surroundings and circumstances. And indeed, it can be painful and even frightening to admit that in certain key respects we are not in a position to call the shots. From a psychological standpoint, holding on seems to be our default position. Letting go is harder, but sometimes it is precisely the right solution.

Rev. Michael A. Schuler has served for twenty-six years as the Parish Minister of the First Unitarian Society of Madison. He is the author of various essays in Dharma World and UU World magazines and the book Making the Good Life Last: Four Keys to Sustainable Living. He is a life-long distance runner who also practices t’ai chi and yoga.

by Rev. Roger Bertschausen

One of the central concepts in my spirituality is pilgrimage. I’ve preached about this before and want a last crack at it here. I’ll particularly focus on a variety of pilgrimages I undertook during my sabbatical last fall–from visiting the prison cell in Transylvania where one of the founders of Unitarianism died to the sacred abbey on the isle of Iona in Scotland to Strawberry Fields in Liverpool.