Let’s Go Caroling! The one thing that I’ve missed more than anything else during this Covid time is singing together as a congregation. Christmastime isn’t Christmastime without carols, and caroling is all about singing together. We can still make Christmas caroling happen, though, by using a website! I’ve started learning a new website called Easy Virtual Choir, ...

Sep 24, 2021 It was a lot of fun getting together to celebrate and share music and desserts last Saturday even in the rain and the dark! Thanks to all of the musicians and storytellers. All of the bakers and folks who helped with setup and cleanup! And thanks especially to Bev Lawson who was the ...

What a joy it was to be with so many of you in person last Sunday at High Rock Park to celebrate our annual water communion ritual and kick off the liturgical year! I knew that I had missed being with you all in that way, but it was almost overwhelming to be with you ...

Updated COVID Guidelines, August 2021 The UUA updated its recommendations for congregations regarding COVID this month. The Board and Way Forward Task Force are just digesting this information now and so no new congregational policies have been made, but that will probably change soon. I’ll summarize some of the most relevant recommendations in this column, and you ...

August 6, 2021 We’ve been through the pandemic. And we haven’t gotten all the way through the pandemic. In a recent online gathering of UU ministers who participate in the Soul Matters Sharing Circle, a colleague shared a metaphor that someone had used when they were trying to describe this current moment. It goes something like ...

July 9, 2021 Last Tuesday, July 6, I joined with local Black Lives Matter leaders and many others to voice our outrage at the recent comments of Assistant Chief of Police John Catone and Public Safety Commissioner Robin Dalton. On June 28, Assistant Chief Catone and Commissioner Dalton held a press conference to report on what they ...

April 23, 2021 Like many people, I was relieved by the verdict delivered Tuesday in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd. Before we knew what the verdict would be, leaders of MLK Saratoga planned a gathering at the Spirit of Life statue in Congress Park for 6:00 that day. At the event, ...

May 26, 2020 You may have heard that, given what experts are saying about the coronavirus, the UUA is recommending that we plan on virtual operations through May 2021. That feels like a really long time. As Susan Frederick-Gray says in the letter containing that recommendation, take a breath. What it doesn’t mean is that we’ll never be ...

This has not been like what I thought coming back into my shared ministry with you would be like! I thought we might have a congregational dinner, that I’d be sitting down with you and the committees and teams . . . And instead everything is being reimagined, and I have been on a steep ...

Welcome Back, Rev Joe! Let’s Practice Zoom! The Board and I have been talking and it just seems to make sense to cut the sabbatical short, so I’m starting to step back into my ministry with you all. During such an unusual time, we need all hands on deck to be sure we stay connected even ...