Long before the myth of the Minotaur, the rounded maze shape has evoked powerful emotional responses, sometimes calming and sometimes envigorating. How deep does the labyrinthine quest for the heart of the maze go? john (lower case intentional) Snodgrass is a frequent and popular speaker at UU Amherst. An instructor in Religion at Canisius University, … Continue reading “The Labyrinth”

This time of extreme heat has long been associated with laziness and bad luck, especially for dogs. In this service we’ll celebrate the rising temperatures, and the special perspective that can come from taking a break to relax from the busy summer schedule. john (lower case intentional) Snodgrass is a frequent and popular speaker at … Continue reading “The Dog Days of Summer”

An old idiom tells us that, for better or worse, birds with similar feathers flock together. People will find like minded people. But what if a diversity of birds wanted to build a community? john (lower case intentional) Snodgrass is a frequent and popular speaker at UU Amherst. An instructor in Religion at Canisius University, … Continue reading “Birds of a Feather”

How is it that humans can feel so different from their fellow humans, and yet feel a kinship and commonality with creatures of other species? And of all other land-animals, none looks as “other” as the elephant, but we have a strange history of a deep-felt connection with this stony-skinned gentle giant. john (lower case … Continue reading Something About Elephants

Winter comes, and with it, the perfect excuse to stop feeling guilty about wanting to stay indoors all the time. Most humans in the modern world spend most of their time inside. How did we get to be this way?john (lower case intentional) Snodgrass is a frequent and popular speaker at UU Amherst. An instructor … Continue reading “Homebody”

Why does the pig get such a bad reputation in religion? And how has this creature helped to shape human history?john (lower case intentional) Snodgrass is a frequent and popular speaker at UU Amherst. An instructor in Religion at Canisius University, john is also a playwright and author of many books, the most recent being … Continue reading When Pigs Fly

How did a mythical sea-monster get into the Bible? Why did it have to be killed, and will people really eat it? We’ll be looking at this strange beast and some of its ancient relatives, and what this all has to do with the struggles of modern faith.

Fire has a special place in every religion, often as a portal between the solid world and the spirit world. We hear that we have “domesticated” fire but it is not our pet, as we learn when fires spread through parts of the country. We’ll be talking about the sacred and dangerous aspects of flame.john … Continue reading Campfire Stories

The adoption of a dog ushers in a new beginning, but the human-canine relationship has been going on for as long as either of us remember. john (lower case intentional) Snodgrass is a frequent and popular speaker at UU Amherst. An instructor in Religion at Canisius University, john is also a playwright and author of … Continue reading A Whiff of Change

You don’t need to sleep all winter to awaken in the spring. john (lower case intentional) Snodgrass is a frequent and popular speaker at UU Amherst. An instructor in Religion at Canisius University, john is also a playwright and author of many books, the most recent being Shakespeare’s Goddess.