Arlington UU

05/28/2025

The old Sylvester McCoy Dr. Who episodes, featuring his companion Ace, were really pretty scary as I'm being reminded this evening. And they didn't have to spend a lot of money on special effects either. They ran from 1987-1989.

05/11/2025

04/14/2025

Here's another in a series of photos of the church grounds. This is a flagstone path in the area of the rock garden.

04/11/2025

Some friends of AUUC, and even members, may occasionally feel uncomfortable with the traditional language that occasionally appears in hymns we sing on Sundays.
My late wife, who was director of our religious education program back when we had more children attending, liked to respond to this by advising "We are singing it; we aren't signing it." And that works for me.

04/07/2025

Years ago when we purchased our AV system, we soon suffered a break-in and burglary. After replacing stuff that was lost, we "secured" our big AV monitor with a massive link chain, wrapped around its base several times, and an impressive key-operated padlock.
Much later it was generally agreed that this arrangement was both ugly and rather silly, but we'd misplaced the key to the lock and could do nothing.
This week I found the key, which had been carefully labeled. For reasons forgotten it was in a ziplock bag in a bookcase in my home office. On a shelf with poetry and cookbooks.
This morning, working with the church member who was part of the team that originally assembled the AV cart and installed the monitor, I got the padlock and chain removed. Free at Last -- glory hallelujah, it's free at last! Anybody who wants to see the offending items can find them stashed inside the AV cart; the key will be kept elsewhere -- but not with my poetry and cookbook collection.

03/23/2025

Hoping to post a series of photos of the church grounds with flowers and/or vegetables. Here's the first -- clematis in bloom on the corner post of the north porch.

03/15/2025

As a followup on an ongoing discussion about George Washington and slavery, here is a link to a very detailed, balanced, and documented article about his history with slavery. Some of it is ugly, some of it may be surprising. https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/slavery/ten-facts-about-washington-slavery #:~:text=In%20the%20document%2C%20Washington%20left,the%20terms%20of%20the%20will.

Despite having been an enslaver for 56 years, George Washington struggled with the institution of slavery and wrote of his desire to end the practice. At the end of his life, Washington made the decision to free all of the enslaved people he owned in his 1799 will.

03/09/2025

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS BEGINS AT 2:00 A.M. SUNDAY

02/24/2025

Is it just me or do I have company in this belief: Anything having to do with zombies is TRASH. There has never been a quality zombie movie or TV show. Which is kind of surprising because there have been pretty good vampire movies, and the Frankenstein's Monster story has produced at least a couple of good films, both dramatic and comic. I'm sending out a request here for submittals -- zombie movies that were actually worth watching.

02/24/2025

DRUID

In the grove
The trees were listening
To a thing they hadn’t heard
In generations –
A song sung just for them.

The last occasion
Had been a passing Caddo,
Looking there for bow wood,
Dense, orange.
Difficult to work
But strong and durable.

Then so long without a song
Only the eldest could remember
And that as in a dream.

Now this tall young man,
All dressed in white,
Head covered in respect,
Stood there, softly murmuring
A chant to Her,
Her whom the Caddo barely knew,
“Blessed is She,”
And one for the grove itself,
“Gather we at the tree.”

It might have seemed
A breeze stirred the leaves;
The man knew
It was the trees sighing.

Copyright 2011 John I. Blair

02/23/2025

A recent loss from our community was Dr. Allan Saxe, long-time UTA professor and Arlington philanthropist. At AUUC he was several times our benefactor, having donated among other things to obtaining our HVAC system and preserving our church grounds as a nature area that is locally known for its beautiful wildflowers in season.