Inspirational Talks

Sitting on a rock to avoid the muck of the marsh, twelve-year-old me watched with wonder as hundreds of tadpoles squiggled in a murky pond. The pond, and the tadpoles, showed up every year following spring rains on some undeveloped land at the end of my road. Both the pond and the tadpoles disappeared in summer’s heat. How many tadpoles…

This talk, filled with interesting facts about groundhogs, the history of Groundhog Day, and a reflection on the midpoint of winter, was first presented at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Glens Falls in Queensbury, New York, on February 1, 2026. Groundhog bites mayor! That was the headline in February 2009 after Mike Bloomberg, who was then New York City’s mayor,…

This was the first part of a joint presentation made with one of the founders of North Country Wild Care, a regional wildlife rehabilitator member organization, to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Glens Falls in Queensbury, New York, on December 14, 2025. The second part, which is unfortunately not mine to share, highlighted some of the ways humans are shifting…

This talk exploring how gratitude can be the foundation for service and activism was first presented to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Glens Falls in Queensbury, New York, on November 30, 2025. The presentation was preceded by the Akwesasne Thanksgiving Address, read responsively with the congregation. Akwesasne is a Mohawk Nation staddling the U.S.-Canadian border in New York along the…

This exploration of the wonders of plants was first presented to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Glens Falls in Queensbury, New York, on October 5, 2025. The talk is balanced between science and spirituality and is appropriate for most audiences. The first time I went to a state wildlife rehabilitation conference, the keynote speaker was some guy named Doug Tallamy.…

Inspired by drumming in one of the full moon rituals I offered Mountain River Circle, held at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Glens Falls, the worship committee asked me to work drumming into a summer Sunday service. I brought drums to the congregation on August 17, 2025 and included the following in the service. Opening Chant Come, loved ones come.…

Presented at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Glens Falls, New York, on June 29, 2025 for the annual flower communion Sunday. This service ends the congregational year. The flower communion ceremony is meant to highlight the beauty of diversity within the community. I look around at you holding flowers and see not just the beauty of the flowers but of…

This short talk, presented on May 4, 2025 to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Glens Falls, was part of a service co-lead by me and two other One Spirit Interfaith Seminary graduates in which we shared our journeys to, through, and after seminary. I was raised on the south shore of Long Island, by parents who only felt obligated to…

Presented January 12, 2025, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Glens Falls in Queensbury, New York, the weekend after I received my basic venomous snake handling certification. The talk was inspired by rattlesnakes, snapping turtles, opossums, and love. I wasn’t here last Sunday. Instead, I was in Atlanta, putting snakes into bags, then into buckets. You may have just said…

Presented at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Glens Falls in Queensbury, New York, on October 27, 2024. This Halloween-themed talk was inspired by morning fog that rolled in while I was on my paddleboard. At summer’s end, I was out on the lake on my paddle board early one morning, when a thick fog rolled in. My vision was limited…