Speaker & Worship Leader:- Ruby Johnson

The ocean is an object of both wonder and fear. Its rhythm clears the mind and soothes jangled nerves. But underneath its glassy surface, whole ecosystems go about the business of eating and being eaten. What can this contradiction tell us about the nature of being human

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Speaker & Worship Leader:- Ruby Johnson

Today’s service is an introduction to the works of Alan Watts, a British-American writer and philosopher who worked to interpret Hinduism, Buddhism, and Daoism for Western audiences. I first encountered Watts’ completely by accident. I was listening to a selection of calming, meditative music on youtube and a compelling voice came on and began talking very matter-of-factly about some very strange but intriguing spiritual ideas. I wasn’t quite sure what to think. It always pays to be suspicious of people who talk a load of pseudo-mystical nonsense in a very confident fashion – it’s the perfect recipe for a cult leader. It turned out that Alan Watts wasn’t a cult leader, but did get up to all the mischief you might expect of a mid-20th century Californian hippie. He lived for some time in a commune, had three wives (though not all at once), fathered seven children, and used psychedelic drugs. So all in all, exactly my kind of person. I’ve enjoyed Alan’s spiritual insights, and I hope you will too.

No recording this week.

Follow this shortcut to the bottom of the page for the various readings, videos, etc. shared in the service.

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Ruby Johnson

Sorry, no recordings this week due to technical issues.

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Follow this shortcut to the bottom of the page for the various readings, videos, etc. shared in the service.

Ruby Johnson © 3 September 2023

Christianity has a lot to say about fathers. Taking just Catholicism as the most extreme example, we have a God in heaven who is like a father. Then we have his representative on earth, the Pope, whose title derives from the ancient Greek word for father. Then under him, we have individual priests, who are also referred to as “Father”. Admittedly, this is balanced out slightly by the fact that Catholics venerate the virgin Mary as a holy mother, but even so, this view of religion presents us with a veritable “Russian nesting doll” of fathers.

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Ruby Johnson

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Ruby Johnson © 26th February 2023

I think that a lot of people are attracted to Unitarianism because they were cast out by, or have left, other faith-based communities. The fourth principle of Unitarian Universalism is that we engage in “a free and responsible search for truth and meaning”. Those of us who have come to this church as cast-offs from other faith traditions will attest that free inquiry is not necessarily a hallmark of organised religion.