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By THE REV. RANDOLPH CALVO

Today is Oct. 5. Election Day is Nov. 5.A recent survey found that 90% of Americans can name a recent news event that made them angry while only 50% could name something that made them proud. This is a worrisome comparison of numbers as we approach...

By THE REV. HEATHER J. BLAIS

Recently, we took our oldest child on a tour of my alma mater, Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Our oldest has always navigated life with an insatiable curiosity and desire to know more. I was eager for them to have a taste of the...

By THE REV. ALISON CORNISH

When a message runs through the whole of scripture, it’s worth taking notice. The ancient imperative of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures — to welcome the stranger — is one of note for its insistence, its timelessness, and timeliness, too.First...

By THE REV. CINDY LAJOY

Have you ever judged yourself for not being “spiritual enough?” And what does that even mean? Today in America we often find people speaking more about their spiritual journeys than their faith or religious journeys, and for many that is a much better...

By THE REV. JIMMY PICKETT

I have on my right arm a tattoo that reminds me every day why I serve as a priest in the Episcopal Church.I grew up in Leicester and spent nearly every weekend at my Great Grandmother’s house, an old red farmhouse with a big barn and a large field...

By THE REV. JULIE G. OLMSTED

Recently, I saw a video featuring a performer named Rhiannon Giddens. The video was called “Another Wasted Life,” and featured a group of exonerated prisoners through an organization you may have heard of: The Innocence Project. I looked it up...

By THE REV. SHAUN O’CONNOR

Like a flame my hope is burning,May my song arise to You:Source of Life that has no ending,On life’s path I trust in youRefrain from the Hymn of the Jubilee 2025When Jesus begins his ministry at the synagogue in Nazareth, he reads from the scroll of...

By THE REV. DR. CANDI ASHENDEN

Before heading to South Korea in August to visit my son who teaches there, I did a little research into the religions of South Korea and was intrigued by what I learned. I discovered that South Korea, a vibrant country with a rich cultural tapestry,...

By THE REV. DR. MEGAN E. LEARY

For my birthday last year my husband and sons gave me a bird feeder with a camera attached.The camera has a motion sensor that is activated when birds land to feed and then captures video of them eating. I have become enchanted with watching the...

By THE REV. MICK COMSTOCK

I came to Heath in the summer of 1970, just out of seminary, as pastor of the Heath Union Evangelical Church and the Rowe Community Church. It didn’t take me long to learn that the pastorate was no longer a bully pulpit but was still a bully...

By THE REV. ALISON CORNISH

One of the greatest joys in my 20 years of ministry has been getting to meet, learn from, worship with, and befriend those who identify as religiously different from how I name myself — a Unitarian Universalist. First on Long Island, then in...

By THE REV. VICKI IX

I have added my coming out to the list of miracles in my life — the glimpses of the resurrection I have been granted in this life. I count this moment as a blessing and pray for those who have not yet been able to say the words out loud.More...

By BEN TOUSLEY, M.DIV.

Years ago, I stood with some family members and a large crowd of strangers on a whale watch boat anxiously anticipating the appearance of the first whale. When the mighty leviathan breached the water quite close to one side of our boat, all let out a...

By THE REV. LINDA M. RHINEHART NEAS

Have you heard of “glimmer moments?” I thought this was something cutesy that someone made up, but after doing research, I learned that it is actually a scientific term.The phrase “glimmer moments” was created by psychotherapist Deb Dana in an attempt...

By THE REV. DAVID JONES

There is and there always has been within the Christian tradition a lively debate about the divinity of the person Jesus. We encounter it in our own pews at the holiest times of the year, in our unease, at Christmas, with the virgin birth, and in our...

By DOMENIC POLI

GREENFIELD — The Rev. Timothy Campoli was ordained on April 6, 1974. There is little way he could have predicted he would mark his 50th year in the Catholic priesthood by celebrating Mass exactly a half-century later, but that’s precisely what...

By THE REV. RANDOLPH CALVO

This weekend, Jews are celebrating the feast of Passover. Passover began at sundown this past Monday and ends at sundown this coming Tuesday. Usually, Passover and Easter coincide on the calendar. However, this is a Jewish leap year. The Jewish...

By TINKY WEISBLAT

I was thrilled to learn last year that Haley’s of Athol was planning to publish “Seasonings,” a book of prayers by Allen “Mick” Comstock of Shelburne Falls. Mick has been a minister for more than 50 years, many of those years in Franklin County. In...

By THE REV. CINDY LAJOY

Have you ever walked through a season of your life where, no matter how hard you tried, you were unable to see your way through to the “other side?” Maybe you have been anxious for months about a major decision you need to make, but despite your...

By JASPER LAPIENSKI

“In a place where there is no man, strive to be a man.” (Avot 2:6)If you take just the second half of this statement, it sounds uncomfortably familiar: Be a man. We hear that a lot these days. Real men don’t cry; be a man. Shoulder the burden. Do your...

By THE REV. DR. CANDI ASHENDEN

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday and many little children in our towns will wake up to discover that the Easter Bunny has arrived while they slept and hidden real and/or plastic-colored eggs around their living rooms or yards, perhaps along with some little...