We’re going deep into Unitarian and Universalist (and then “Unitarian Universalist”) history this Fall. And my desk is telling the tale of the waters I/we are swimming in this Fall, if you’re joining us for our UU History and Theology course.

But there’s a thing to notice when cracking bindings like these, which is that history can be… boring. Sometimes. We historians don’t say things like that in public. Because we have to maintain the illusion that understanding the world always means immense entertainment and un-put-down-able narratives.

In fact, history is sometimes as boring as being alive is. Instead of stories that keep us at the edge of our seats, sometimes history is lengthy expositions and volumes of records and lists of names. Sometimes it invites us to see words and language that is not familiar to us, but which is authentic and expressive from the time in which it comes. Consider this passage from Hosea Ballou, one of the early voices of Universalism as he concluded a lengthy treatise about atonement.

Humbly hoping and expecting the glorious increase and extensive growth of what I have (though feebly) contended for; namely, the holiness and happiness of all mankind. I look with strong expectation to that period when all sin and every degree of unreconciliation will be destroyed by the divine power of that love which is stronger than death.

That’s a lot of words to say something like “part of our hope is, ‘it gets better.'” And it would be very easy to quibble with specific words and phrases here. To read this we have to bend our minds around this different way of expressing oneself.

But maybe that’s something we should do more often. Maybe reading old, boring, hard stuff is a way of reminding ourselves that our world can look different, that our ways of being are not the only way it has ever been. Maybe we should pick up a dusty book (or photo, or album, or whatever) from time to time.

UU History and Theology is an adult RE class that is ongoing –– there’s still a chance to join if you’d be interesting in tangling with some dusty books!

Sometimes it is hard to tap into our spiritual selves or find time to nurture our creativity and intellectual curiosity. Here is a section that reflects on some nourishing materials from around the web and related media channels in order to get us thinking, get us feeling, and get us reflecting on the lives we are living in this big world. **Some Adult/Mature Themes May Appear in Links and Other Attached Material**

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Allan T. Georgia, MDiv, MTS, PhD

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