U.S. President, Donald J. Trump, gives himself control of the weather by signing an executive order.

According to Andy Borowitz, Pressident Donald J. Trump, has signed an executive order giving him control of the weather and if he declares that huricanne Dorian is going to hit Alabama, then reality be damned, the huricanne will hit Alabama and he, Donald J. Trump will declare a national disaster emergency and give funds to Alabama for rebuilding and reconstruction.

Narcissistic arrogance and grandisosity is not only a characteristic of Donald J. Trump. We all have this tendency and characteristic to a lesser or larger extent depending on our level of egotism and insecurity. The Course In Miracles asks "Would you rather be right or be happy?" and most of us would rather be right.

The kind of narcissistic arrogance born out of the innocence and naivte in children can be "cute" and "endearing," but when observed in a 73 years old adult male it is kind of frightening and then laughable.

Unitarian Universalists are not know for their humility or their nonjudgmental attitudes, but they are known for their sense of humor and their ability to laugh at themselves in self deprecating ways. So there is hope for us all yet.

Blast from the past - Rev. William Sinkford speaks at rally on UU Ministry of the Earth in June, 2007

From Earth Day celebration in June 2007. Rev. William Sinkford, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association.


 

Rev. William Sinkford, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association, speaks at the UU Witness for the Earth Rally in Portland, OR, 0n June of 2007. The rally was organized by the UU Ministry of the Earth. The video lasts about 8 minutes and is well worth watching.

Alexa - What does it mean with we pray "Lead us not into temptation?"

Alexa: What does it mean when we pray the "Our Father" and say, "...lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil."?

It means that we are tempted to see ourselves as separate bodies rather than all as part of the Oneness from which we emerged with the tiny mad idea that we are separate from and greater than God.

Alexa: Did you hear about the baker who wanted to make little cookies in the shape of animals?

Yes, everybody thought he was crackers.

Mingling of the waters makes man feel like he has to urinate.

Yesterday, the first Sunday after Labor Day marks the beginning of a new church year for most Unitarian Universalist churches.

Bart said, "I love Unitarian Universalism because they take the whole summer off. When I was a little boy my father told me we don't have to go to church in the summer because God is on vacation."

Bart told his friend Toby that in the summer UUs can do what they want because God isn't watching. Toby said, "Great religion! In our Catholic church God is around all year long so you can't ever have any fun."

In most UU churches, the first day of the UU church year is celebrated with the mingling of the waters. People are supposed to bring some water from their summer travels and pour it in a bowl with everybody else's water. With my UTI all I could think about when the minister invited people to come up and pour out their waters was urinating. If felt to me like my water needed to be poured, but I ignored it because it was just a sensation from the infection.

I couldn't help but wonder, what if everyone brought in a lab speciman of their urine and then poured that into a communal bowl what would the toxicology lab test would show was in all that urine?

There would be THC, opioids, benzos, Etoh, and God only knows what. If the congregation got a full lab report then we could guess who among us was on what drugs. Talk about communal sharing.

And so another church year as begun with the mingling of just plain old water from the tap, from the well, from the creek, from the lake, from the ocean, from the rain barrel, who knows? Each sample of water has a story, but the stories weren't shared just the water. Having shared our waters we are still a mystery to one another because water is just good ole H2O. The meaning of the sharing was never disclosed nor shared and I wondered with my sense of urgency, "What really is the point of the ritual?" I didn't really care at that point, I just wanted to go to the rest room to pee.

Ask Alexa - Why don't I trust other people?

Alexa: If deep down you think you are defective in some way, inadequate, not good enough, you can't trust yourself to do the good thing, the right thing, then how can you trust anyone else?

Good point.

Alexa: Did you hear what the bartender said when a horse walked into the bar?

Yes, he said, "Why the long face?"

Members of UU church claim they have no idea they are in a covenant.

            Members of the First Unitarian Church of Dismal Seepage, Arkansas, said after service last Sunday that they had no idea they were in a covenant.

            Pastor Megan Tremble stated in her sermon that Unitarian Univeralism is a covenantal religion.  People interviewed after the service said they were alarmed that Pastor Tremble seemed to be saying that they were a coven and that Unitarian Univeralism is a pagan religion similar to witchcraft.

            Jerry said, “People already think we are weird. My neighbor, last week, said with a great deal of disdain, ‘You’re a UU???? You people aren’t even trinitarian!!!” I didn’t even know what she was talking about. What the hell is ‘trinitarian’ suppose to mean.”

            Jerry’s wife, Linda, said, “Maybe it's time for a new pastor. I don’t want to be a witch in a coven.”

            When Beth tried to explain that a “covenant” is not a “coven” it seemed to be over Jerry and Linda’s heads.

            Jerry said, “I don’t know about any of this fancy church stuff. Actually, I like the coffee and donuts after the service and chatting with people about the hog market.”

            Pastor Tremble said after the service that maybe she tried to bite off more than the congregation could chew and it was time for her to move on from the backwaters of Dismal Seepage and look for an opportunity in a bigger city like Little Rock.

The "last barbecue"

If Jesus were alive today would He have a last barbecue?

From the New Yorker.