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The Sacred Web: Unitarian Universalism's Seventh Principle and the Ecology of Existence

Among the seven Principles that covenant Unitarian Universalist congregations, the seventh holds a unique and expansive place: "Respect for the interdependent web of all existence, of which we are a part." This statement is both a spiritual affirmation and a profound ecological and philosophical truth claim, serving as a foundational ethic for modern religious naturalism. To understand its depth is to explore its scientific underpinnings, its theological implications, and its urgent call to ethical living. At its core, this principle moves beyond a mere acknowledgment of nature's beauty to assert a fundamental ontology of relationship. It posits that existence is not a collection of discrete, independent objects, but a dynamic, interconnected process. Is this true that all existence is interdependent? From a scientific perspective, evidence abounds. In ecology, the concept of the food web illustrates how energy and matter flow through systems, where the loss of a single s...
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"Fireflies" a poem by Charles Anthony Hood


What happened to the fireflies?

I do not see them anymore.

When I was a child,

They would sprinkle the darkness…

With their little lights.

Sometimes, we’d put them in a jar…

With holes in the lid…

Then release them later…

After playtime was over.

I read an article that said fireflies…

Are going extinct.

Save the fireflies!

Save the fireflies!

We need to hear the cry from a child,

“We must save them, please!”

That was my childish cry…

From the child that still lives in my heart.

Sadness and melancholy for the fireflies.

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