Sermon on Sacred Activism at St Johnsbury UU Church
The heart of the UU service I led last Sunday was a sermon I gave about Sacred Activism which its founder, mystic and religious scholar Andrew Harvey, defines it as “a transforming force of compassion-in-action that is born of a fusion of deep spiritual knowledge,...
Leading worship at St Johnsbury UU Church
Last Sunday, I led the worship service for the Unitarian Universalist congregation in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, at the invitation of their worship committee. I shared several readings and songs that resonate strongly for me, including the following: From John Phillip...
Love Over Lake Placid – A Hoot of a Wedding!
Last Saturday, I had the great pleasure to officiate the wedding of Lauren and Cliff, a joyous and loving couple who have known each other for 20 years. The ceremony took place at a beautiful lodge overlooking Lake Placid in New York State. It was a cozy and heartfelt...
Walking the Inter-Spiritual Path
I love this quote by spiritual teacher Mirabai Starr. It speaks so eloquently to the work I do, and the work that we all strive to do as sacred activists: To walk an interspiritual path is to travel through the wilderness with open hands and a courageous spirit. ...To...
2016 U.S. Presidential Election Campaign: The Choice between Love and Fear
Today, in the United States, is President’s Day, which honors the birthdays of two of the most revered of our presidents - George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. But in this presidential election campaign, and a very crazy one at that, my thoughts turn to the current...
Valentine’s Day Reflections on Love and Sacred Marriage
Today is St Valentine’s Day, a time we focus on love, which in popular culture usually means romantic love with its common expressions of chocolate, roses, greetings cards, intimate dinners, and anything heart-shaped. Nothing wrong with any of those things - Helen and...
It’s Groundhog Day – Over and Over Again
Yesterday, Feb 2, was Groundhog Day, and I was delighted to hear that Punxsutawney Phil, that legendary rodent weather forecaster, did NOT see his shadow, meaning that spring will come early this year. After the long and intense winters of the past two years, that is...
“And I’ll Give You Hope, When Hope is Hard to Find”
Vaclav Havel - the Czech poet, activist, and former President - once wrote, “Hope is a state of mind, not of the world. Hope is not a prognostication – it’s an orientation of the spirit. Hope… is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest...
Blessing of the Website
This website, online for the past two weeks, is a key path for sharing my ministry with the world. To honor and strengthen this path as I begin to journey on it, Helen and I hosted a celebration with dear friends at our house last night. The highlight was a ritual for...
Dad’s Day (Day of Forgiveness)
Yesterday, January 22, was the anniversary of the death of my Dad, Murray Shapiro, 31 years ago, an event which changed me forever. It was my first experience of accompanying a dying person and understanding deeply that at the end of life the only thing that remains,...
You can check out any time you like. But you can never leave…
Yesterday, Glenn Frey, co-founder of the 70s rock band The Eagles, died. I’ve always loved their music. Of their many popular songs, the one that stands out for me is “Hotel California”. It’s a haunting mystical song, with so many interpretations about what it means....
Listening to Winter
Each season of the year has something important to tell us. Here in Vermont, way up north, this season of winter can be a time of inward reflection and power as the frozen silence speaks to us in ways subtle and dramatic. This is beautifully expressed in the following...
A Gratitude Ritual for Lynda’s Birthday
Birthdays are a wonderful time to reflect on what we are grateful for in our lives, both past and present, as well as gratitude for what is to come. My friend Lynda asked me to lead a birthday gratitude ritual for her a few days ago. I began the ritual with a...
Connecting with my Spirit Mom on her birthday
Loved ones who have died are no longer with us in the flesh, but, in my experience, they haven’t really gone very far away. Rather, their spirits (or souls) continue to be with us. I have felt this to be very true with my mother, Ruth Shapiro, who died almost three...
Deepening Chaplain Compassion – My 24 hours as a Hospital Patient
A couple of days ago, I had to go to the emergency room at the hospital near here because of a medical situation going on with me that seemed potentially life-threatening. As it turned out, I was fine. But until that became clear, I spent 24 hours as a hospital...
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