UUCOC Conversations

Writing Down the Bones
by Natalie Goldberg
Available at Amazon >>

This isn’t a book review.

Many people stopped me after church last week to ask for the title and author of the writing book I mentioned, so I thought I’d link it here as the inaugural post for the new category “reading matters.”

What’s this category for?

Well, it can be used for links to books that are mentioned at church, during religious education, etc.

Or it can be for brief reviews of the books any of us are reading, so that we can share them with each other.

Also, if there’s a book mentioned that strikes your fancy, following the link to Amazon to purchase it helps generate tiny amounts of revenue for the church.

Book reviews should be capsule reviews, no more than 300 words. Don’t go through the entire plot, just give a brief sketch and tell us if you liked it. Here’s a sample:

When I first encountered the book Writing Down the Bones, by Natalie Goldberg, I was working in a bookstore/cafe. It was the summer after my freshman year of college, and I was crushing on a poet who would come in and nurse a latte while he wrote in a battered notebook.

He didn’t recommend this book, it just jumped out at me one slow afternoon. I began reading it during my shift, and had to buy it and take it home so I could finish it. I learned about writing as a form of meditation, and that it’s okay to write just for yourself, sometimes.

I also learned that it’s important to give yourself permission to write drivel, as long as you keep writing.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes the written word, whether or not they write professionally, but especially to people interested in memoirs, or in keeping a journal.

Okay. Your turn.

Tonight at the Sacred Texts reading/study group, our youngest member helped her father read from the book of Matthew, and it was such a perfect photo opp we had to share.

If you haven’t dropped by to join in the reading and discussion (and take a turn holding Charlotte), we’ve got two chapters left of Matthew before we move forward (or back, as the case may be – I’ve been told the plan is to alternate New and Old Testament books), and the discussions range from whether or not all of the words attributed to Jesus are really his to whether or not aliens are mentioned in the Bible, with most of the topics falling more toward the former than the latter extreme.

There is no judgment of each other, but we do pick apart the words we’re reading, taking meaning where we find it.

There is a lot of laughter – but there are serious moments as well.

The Sacred Texts group meets on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM in Hope Chapel.

Large and small events alike are being held in communities and cities worldwide as humans gather to ” be Present and accountable” for the world in which we choose to live.

On Tuesday, July 28th, you are encouraged to connect with your own creative potential, and find your own unique way to participate in Fire the Grid II, either in an intimate space for yourself, or with others.

For one hour, you have an opportunity to act as a lightning rod or conduit for the creative Source energy that will rain down upon the earth on July 28th, all while visualizing the world in which you desire to reside, in all its beauty.

This uniquely creative energy is available for the entire day, but will be at its peak from 5:19 p.m. to 6:19 p.m. CST.

I am glad to be one of the first posts.  It is kinda hard for me to understand everything we have to do to get on this, but the more I work on it the better it will be for me.  Hope to talk to you later.  Hugs, Barbara K.

Deeply Rooted – Our faith is deeply rooted in the whole of human experience. Rev. Mark Walz asks if our personal spiritual journey is rooted as deeply and firmly in the principles we share?

 

 Deeply Rooted [21:16m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (53)

Got blog?
Yes, we do!

Welcome to UUCOC Conversations the blog for the Unitarian Universalist Churrch of Oak Cliff, in Dallas, TX. There aren’t many posts here yet, but you can look forward to some of the following:

• News from our Social Justice ministry, and calls to action in both local and national movements.
• Meet-n-greet interviews with our members
• Spotlights of famous UUs
• First-hand impressions of various ministry activities and covenant groups – impressions that are less formal than the newsletter, or go beyond it.
• Anything else we can think of.

Your webmaster is Scott Grey, and your admin team includes Melissa Bartell, Kimberlyn Crowe, and Jase Donaldson.

Comments and suggestions are welcome. If it’s your first time posting, or your post contains two or more hyperlinks, it will be queued for admin approval, so don’t panic if it doesn’t immediately show up. DO include a valid email address, so we can respond to you. It won’t be seen by the general public, and we promise not to share it with anyone without your permission.

I’ve asked all the admins to post introductions, so you can look forward to that in the next few days.