By Bonnie Withers It was closing time at the National Library of Austria in Vienna and Dick and I were making a dash through the main passage toward the doors. I was unhappy to have to rush past several vitrines full of tantalizing books and manuscripts. But then I came to a stop at a … Continue reading Moments in UU History: Out of the Flames
By Bonnie Withers To celebrate Poetry month, I hunted about for UU poets, not so much the well-known, like e.e. cummings, but some whose names are not so well celebrated. That brought me to the Cary sisters, Alice (1820) and Phoebe (1824), Universalists. The sisters were among nine children born to an Ohio farmer and his … Continue reading Moments in UU History: The Cary Sisters
By Bonnie Withers If you have had even a passing connection with protestant hymns, you know the beloved “Nearer, My God, To Thee.” Some of you will be able to start humming it. This hymn holds a sacred place in Christian hymnbooks, popular culture (Titanic – see below), and even an irreverent reference in a college drinking … Continue reading Moments in UU History: Sarah Flower Adams
By Rev. Barbara Prose Unitarian Universalists see something sacred in historical movements for freedom. Our theology of freedom first emerged from interpreting the story in Exodus, when the ancient Israelites escape slavery in Egypt, then make their way to freedom. The story offers a powerful metaphor affirming that liberation from oppression is a holy goal … Continue reading Our Theme for April 2026
By Bonnie Withers We UU’s cannot celebrate Women’s History Month without paying tribute to the amazing contributions of Judith Sargent Murray. Murray, born in 1751, learned early that women were not considered as intellectually capable as men. She wanted to share in the lessons given by a tutor to her brother, Winthrop, but was not … Continue reading Moments in UU History: Judith Sargent Murray
By Pat Evenson-Brady It was March 28, 1942, and Minoru Yasui was trying to get arrested in Portland, Oregon. Three months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt had issued Executive Order 9066 which authorized military action (including curfews and incarceration) against US residents to prevent imagined sabotage. On the West Coast, a … Continue reading March 28 is Min Yasui Day in Oregon
By Bonnie Withers I always enjoy coming upon notable UU women who had their roots in my home state of Wisconsin. Caroline Bartlett was born there in 1858. Her father taught her to read at age 4 and encouraged her studies up to the point she indicated she wanted to become a Unitarian minister. He … Continue reading Moments in UU History: Caroline Bartlett Crane
By Bonnie Withers The story of Francis Barrier Williams (1855-1944) gives us an example of a phenomenon described in last week’s service, namely, the gap between personal friendships between races and belief in wide-ranging equality. Francis grew up in mostly white Brockport, New York in a professional Black family where she enjoyed comfortable social relations … Continue reading Moments in UU History: Francis Barrier Williams
By Bonnie Withers Black History Month always takes me back to the extraordinary documentary series, “Eyes on the Prize”—a series of 14 episodes set in two parts documenting the Civil Rights Movement from 1954-1985– and I recall our UU connection to that landmark creation. Henry Hampton was born in St. Louis in 1940. His parents … Continue reading Moments in UU History: Henry Hampton
By Bonnie Withers This week, I stumbled upon a website called Prabook, trademark of World Biographical Dictionary, which exists, it states, to “Preserve Those Who Shaped History Without Making Headlines”. One of the entries caught my attention. If Lydia Louise Ann Very didn’t shape history, she shaped books! If you have spent time with toddler books, … Continue reading Moments in UU History: Lydia Louise Ann Very
