Fun midcentury Universalist Church logo

Still not quite ready to resume blogging, so combing through my “I should post this” pile. This is the Universalist denominational logo, undated here, but probably from the 1950s. Not used for many years, but I’ve seen it on signs, pamphlets and here on letterhead — always this shade of blue, too.

Black Metal Universalism

My attention was drawn yesterday to a site called Black Metal Universalism, the only obvious purpose of which is the sale of t-shirts emblazoned with “All Souls” in a design that is a bit too daring for this 45-year-old to wear non-ironically. So is it “our Universalism” or not? There are certainly independent Universalists, but… Continue reading Black Metal Universalism

So, here’s that clever order of service I described

A few weeks ago, I mentioned a set of nicely-formatted orders of service/bulletins from First Church (Unitarian), Boston, that I found in the archives at the Andover-Harvard library. They were preserved in a file about coordinated opposition to the consolidation of the Unitarians and the Universalists because the minister’s message in them. But I recognized… Continue reading So, here’s that clever order of service I described

Mixed thoughts about memorial wreaths and flowers at momuments

I meant to make this post available well ahead of Memorial Day, but that obviously did not happen. There will always be another occasion for wreaths and tributes at monuments, though. But it wasn’t a national holiday that made me think about this subject originally. I live in Washington D.C., and live near several memorials… Continue reading Mixed thoughts about memorial wreaths and flowers at momuments

Don’t fill the meetinghouse with domestic bric-a-brac

I got so many nice comments from my post about not holding worship in the round, that I thought I’d press my luck by talking about how we decorate our worship space. A few months ago I attended a worship service — not in a Unitarian Universalist church, if it matters — where the candles… Continue reading Don’t fill the meetinghouse with domestic bric-a-brac

Archives search: between “Christ will conquer” and the off-center cross

When the new UUA logo came out recently, quite a few people (myself included) japed about it on Facebook and mused about the past logos, some quite old. I noted the Universalist “Christ Will Conquer” seal and the off-center cross. But dang if, in my research at Harvard-Andover Theological Library, I didn’t find a missing… Continue reading Archives search: between “Christ will conquer” and the off-center cross