The Rev. Meg Barnhouse, a UU World online columnist, is senior minister of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin, Texas, and the author of several books, including Broken Buddha. She is also a humorist and singer-songwriter. (Author’s website.)
Learn more about Meg Barnhouse on UUA.org.
By Meg Barnhouse
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Holiday traditions, tangled up like lightsMeg BarnhouseThe holiday season can be a tangled web of memory, tradition, longing, and joy.
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![By Louis J. Gasnier, film Perils of Pauline, 1914, Wharton (US) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](/sites/default/files/styles/circle_320x320/public/still_from_louis_j._gasnier_-_film_perils_of_pauline_-_1914_-_wharton_-_eye_fot91359-cropped.jpg?h=dbb3fb5d&itok=9I_pB7zh "Public domain")
‘The Perils of Pauline’: Being kind to myselfMeg BarnhouseAllowing myself to see my injuries and pain as ‘not my fault’ is a spiritual challenge.
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Here come the awkward holidaysMeg BarnhouseThere are people who say they love us, but who voted for someone whose policies and promises threaten us and our beloveds.
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Southern faithMeg BarnhouseI see my Unitarian Universalist and southern identities as strengths and gifts, not contradictions.
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Give me shelterMeg BarnhouseHow my congregation in Austin, Texas, decided to give sanctuary to an LGBT activist facing deportation.
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Breaking on throughMeg BarnhouseLanguage helps us make meaning of what is happening to us, when it isn’t a barrier. -
A lie, or just editing?Meg BarnhouseHow much can you alter a story before it’s not itself any more? -
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The Honey Springs worship committee ponders joys and sorrowsMeg Barnhouse‘I’m just a fool for church people and the things that happen in church.’
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Kite motherMeg BarnhouseI kept hoping that one day I would up and be the mother from the greeting card picture.
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The next Jesus to come through the doorMeg BarnhouseWhen I meet a Jesus, I like to keep an open mind.
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My friend Gregg has a shrine in the hallwayMeg BarnhouseWhere did I get this idea that the people in my shrine should be perfect?
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Bethlehem’s hospitalityMeg BarnhouseI’m chagrined to learn that our Christmas pageants have the birth in the stable all wrong.
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Sing me to sleepMeg BarnhouseI wanted things to go back to normal. I wanted none of this to be happening.
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Chaos catsMeg BarnhouseThey will spring your traps with impunity and lie in wait just to show you who's in charge.
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Making it throughMeg BarnhouseShe stomped up and down the aisles until she saw her Christmas tree.
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The Honey Springs worship committee ponders a revivalMeg BarnhouseWhat would a Unitarian Universalist revival be reviving?
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The Honey Springs congregation confronts its ant problemMeg BarnhouseConflict resolution in a congregation not unlike yours.
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The Honey Springs worship committee plans its Easter serviceMeg Barnhouse
A minister, a Pagan, a Christian, a Humanist, and an anthropologist set to work, in a congregation not unlike yours.
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Mary Daly changed my lifeMeg BarnhouseI am not sorry that I used to be ‘one of those angry women.’
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Who says Unitarian Universalism's Principles are easy?Meg BarnhouseThe UU Principles are demanding enough to make me whine.
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Rough magicMeg BarnhouseMaybe I went too far mixing V8 and Pop Rocks, but life isn't always sweet.
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The church board and the IlluminatiMeg BarnhouseWhat did the Décor Committee know, and when did they know it?
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Flat tire and a beating heartMeg BarnhouseA heartbeat is one thing you want to do like everyone else.
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The devil and Martha StewartMeg BarnhouseDon’t give in to the voice that fuels the fires of perfectionism—especially here at the holidays.
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It's all about familyMeg BarnhouseThere's no better context than a family reunion to get over your fears.
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Love can’t fix everythingMeg Barnhouse
I knew the gunman who killed two in a Knoxville church, but I don’t need an explanation for his actions. I need stories of heroes and kindness and compassion.
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Letter to a new parentMeg BarnhouseYour heart will be worn and joyous, wise and beat up, and full of sorrow and amazement.
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The daffodil rescue missionMeg BarnhousePeople say, ‘Bloom where you’re planted,’ but things happen.
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Rekindling the flameMeg BarnhouseTickets to the Keith Urban concert weren't just a gift. They were a miracle.
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Fireworks at the weddingMeg BarnhouseFireworks and church may not seem to go together, but in my family they do.
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Good fortunesMeg BarnhouseIf I owned a fortune cookie company, here's what I'd put in the cookies.