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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Finding Comfort Through SongMeg BarnhouseFrom SpiritI wanted things to go back to normal. I wanted none of this to be happening.
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Deep magicMeg BarnhouseFrom SpiritI’ll keep being open to deep magic until I find a way to believe in it.
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My ponyMeg BarnhouseFrom SpiritAdmitting I would benefit from using a scooter gave me the gift of freedom.
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Holiday traditions, tangled up like lightsMeg BarnhouseFrom LifeThe 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 BarnhouseFrom LifeAllowing myself to see my injuries and pain as ‘not my fault’ is a spiritual challenge.
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Here come the awkward holidaysMeg BarnhouseFrom SpiritThere 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 BarnhouseFrom LifeI see my Unitarian Universalist and southern identities as strengths and gifts, not contradictions.
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Give me shelterMeg BarnhouseFrom LifeHow my congregation in Austin, Texas, decided to give sanctuary to an LGBT activist facing deportation.
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O gremlins, O St. Anthony!Meg BarnhouseFrom SpiritMy faith is in science, but I try to keep an open mind.
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Breaking on throughMeg BarnhouseFrom SpiritLanguage helps us make meaning of what is happening to us, when it isn’t a barrier. -
A lie, or just editing?Meg BarnhouseFrom LifeHow much can you alter a story before it’s not itself any more? -
A pond behind the church?Meg BarnhouseFrom LifeIn my experience, no one improves by way of a scolding.
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The Honey Springs worship committee ponders joys and sorrowsMeg BarnhouseFrom Spirit‘I’m just a fool for church people and the things that happen in church.’
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Kite motherMeg BarnhouseFrom SpiritI 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 BarnhouseFrom SpiritWhen I meet a Jesus, I like to keep an open mind.
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The green afterMeg BarnhouseFrom Spirit‘When I die, I want to have my ashes buried under this tree.’
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My friend Gregg has a shrine in the hallwayMeg BarnhouseFrom SpiritWhere did I get this idea that the people in my shrine should be perfect?
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Bethlehem’s hospitalityMeg BarnhouseFrom IdeasI’m chagrined to learn that our Christmas pageants have the birth in the stable all wrong.
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A little changeMeg BarnhouseFrom SpiritPretending I’m self-sufficient at the Family Dollar store.
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Chaos catsMeg BarnhouseFrom LifeThey 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 BarnhouseFrom EditorialShe stomped up and down the aisles until she saw her Christmas tree.
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The Honey Springs worship committee ponders a revivalMeg BarnhouseFrom SpiritWhat would a Unitarian Universalist revival be reviving?
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The Honey Springs congregation confronts its ant problemMeg BarnhouseFrom SpiritConflict resolution in a congregation not unlike yours.
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The wisdom treeMeg BarnhouseFrom SpiritSometimes the place where you used to find wisdom gets destroyed.
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The Honey Springs worship committee plans its Easter serviceMeg BarnhouseFrom Spirit
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 BarnhouseFrom SpiritI 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 BarnhouseFrom IdeasThe UU Principles are demanding enough to make me whine.
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Rough magicMeg BarnhouseFrom LifeMaybe 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 BarnhouseFrom SpiritWhat did the Décor Committee know, and when did they know it?
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The love truckMeg BarnhouseFrom LifeThe Karma Fairy is laughing her head off at the SUV in my driveway.
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Flat tire and a beating heartMeg BarnhouseFrom SpiritA heartbeat is one thing you want to do like everyone else.
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The devil and Martha StewartMeg BarnhouseFrom LifeDon’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 BarnhouseFrom SpiritThere’s no better context than a family reunion to get over your fears.
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The church and the unicornMeg BarnhouseFrom SpiritOne of them is a mythical creature worth believing in.
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Love can’t fix everythingMeg BarnhouseFrom Spirit
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 BarnhouseFrom SpiritYour heart will be worn and joyous, wise and beat up, and full of sorrow and amazement.
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The daffodil rescue missionMeg BarnhouseFrom LifePeople say, ‘Bloom where you’re planted,’ but things happen.
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Do you feel loved?Meg BarnhouseFrom Spirit
On alternating days, a resolution to stop beating myself up.
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Rekindling the flameMeg BarnhouseFrom SpiritTickets to the Keith Urban concert weren’t just a gift. They were a miracle.
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The floating lifeMeg BarnhouseFrom LifeGoing with the flow sounds nice, until the river tries to kill you.
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Fireworks at the weddingMeg BarnhouseFrom LifeFireworks and church may not seem to go together, but in my family they do.
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Good fortunesMeg BarnhouseFrom SpiritIf I owned a fortune cookie company, here’s what I’d put in the cookies.