Topic: Imagination

Share your story, and you are not alone. I hear your story, I am not alone.

Watch the service HERE. When we are children we are captivated by stories, the wonder and adventure of them thrill us, the champion conquering the fearsome beast reassures us, the happy-ever-after ending is expected. As adults we understand that not all stories are thrilling, some are life-changing. Sometimes the beast conquers the champion. And life … Continue reading Share your story, and you are not alone. I hear your story, I am not alone.

Things Fall Apart

Watch the service HERE. The poet W. B. Yeats said it a hundred years ago, “things fall apart.” The promises of a global community have failed; we’re left with echo chambers that do more to exclude than to include. How do we achieve community in a world that is fragmented and suspicious?Worship Leader: Rev. Katie … Continue reading Things Fall Apart

The Shadow Knows

Each of us has a shadow side; a mirror-image self made of traits we aren’t proud of and don’t express. Carl Jung described the shadow as “the thing one has no wish to be.” Understanding our shadows – the things we don’t want to be – can help us understand ourselves and our deepest values. … Continue reading The Shadow Knows

Myth, Metaphor and Mystery: The Masks of God – How Imagination and Creativity Calls to Us as Spiritual Practices

The theologian and mythologist Karen Armstrong once described religion as an act of the highest imagination. The longing to express and describe the ineffable leads us naturally into the wellspring of our deepest creative impulses. Storyteller Will Hornyak shares poems and myths that speak to our natural impulse toward the sacred in art and expression. … Continue reading Myth, Metaphor and Mystery: The Masks of God – How Imagination and Creativity Calls to Us as Spiritual Practices

Magic Mushrooms and You

View the service HERE. The people of Oregon passed a referendum that allows psilocybin mushrooms to be used for treatment and spiritual purposes in Oregon. Psychedelic mushrooms will be highly regulated and yet still fairly available starting in 2023. What does that have to do with you? For one thing, your community minister, Rev. Katie … Continue reading Magic Mushrooms and You

Some Other Me

What other paths could our lives have taken? How can this mental exercise give us empathy for others – with power and without? I draw on musical theatre as well as my own experience with retail, chronic illness, and love. Worship Leader: Rev. Sue Matranga-Watson Originally from Maryland, Emily now lives in Beaverton. She earned … Continue reading Some Other Me

The Purpose of Poetry

(Note: We will meet on ZOOM this week and/or in the chapel. See below for details) Poetry is nice and all, but what is it really for? The same question might be asked about religion. Rev. Dr. Lynn Ungar, who is both a poet and a UU minister, will offer her thoughts on what poetry … Continue reading The Purpose of Poetry

Emissaries of the Imagination: The Arts in Times of Environmental and Cultural Upheaval

The times of greatest difficulty can also draw forth from us the stories we carry and the gifts we bear for the renewal of ourselves and our communities. Among our greatest resources at such times are imagination, artistry and creativity. What is the unique nature of the medicine we carry and the genius residing within … Continue reading Emissaries of the Imagination: The Arts in Times of Environmental and Cultural Upheaval