Wil Darcangelo

Fitchburg

Contributor at Sentinel and Enterprise

Writer at Freelance

Columnist, Radio Host, Community Advocate, Ordained Unitarian Universalist Minister, Blogger, Artist, Husband, Dad.

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Articles

Taking a look at the center of attention

1 week ago | lowellsun.com | Wil Darcangelo

One of my favorite movie scenes is a short bit in the 1958 film "Auntie Mame" when Mame Dennis, played by Rosalind Russell, is working as a temp phone operator for the law firm of Widdecombe, Gutterman, Applewhite, Bibberman and Black. A tongue-twister, to be sure, for any receptionist. She makes a mess of it, of course. Hilarity ensues, 1950's style. But the intention of that kind of job is to make connections between one side of a conversation and another so that communication occurs.
Locating the power in constructive delusion

3 weeks ago | lowellsun.com | Wil Darcangelo

I am an optimist. And not just your average glass-is-half-full kind of optimist either. I am the glass-is-overflowing type. I'm not sure where it came from exactly. My family is not particularly noted for either their pessimism or optimism, so it's not likely that it stemmed from that (although I acknowledge it was not prevented either). My mother is still fond of reminding me that things always happen for a reason.
Pride Month and the purpose of blurred lines

4 weeks ago | lowellsun.com | Wil Darcangelo

Tomorrow is the first day of LGBTQIA+ Pride Month. Commemorations like this during times such as these raise the temperature of the conflict we see about it. The purpose of Pride Month is to counteract the shame we have been made to feel. Period. It is an awakening from a narrative that was incorrect. Not only incorrect, but harmful, dangerous, and life-threatening.
Whirled peas and other revolutionary notions

1 month ago | lowellsun.com | Wil Darcangelo

I love the play on words of whirled peas. It makes me think of all the peas as people and we are whirling around together in an attempt to make a batch of sacred people soup. It's a deep and abiding hope. And one I believe will, in time, symbolically at least, come to pass. But peace has its obstacles. Our duality of nature creates a tension between our biology and our spirit.
We all have our own way forward. Which way is yours?

1 month ago | lowellsun.com | Wil Darcangelo

We have a lot of thoughts about the word 'way.' In religious terms, it refers to a deliberately chosen life path, or religion. In spiritual discussions, it can mean the way of your soul's (and theoretically, God's) deepest intent for you. We use the former to help keep us on the latter. Thank you for my way. Thank you for the way before me and the way I have come. Thank you for signs. I am grateful for taking the time to read them.
Hopeful Thinking: Love is God, not the other way around

1 month ago | sentinelandenterprise.com | Wil Darcangelo

We have a complicated relationship with what people call God. Not all of us, of course. But certainly most of us. Even those who would consider themselves to be devoutly religious struggle with what it means to be a person of faith. I have a suspicion that a lot of what complicates things is the way we describe God to ourselves. We have extracted from sacred texts a version of God that satisfies a preconceived idea we have of our unworthiness.
Hopeful Thinking: The influences at the point of beginning

1 month ago | sentinelandenterprise.com | Wil Darcangelo

You might find it surprising to know that I possess a belief in astrology. Or perhaps you won’t find it surprising at all. As a way of making an eventual point, in the roundabout style which I typically employ, I’ll share the details of the astrological portion of my faith. You need not subscribe to these beliefs, but keep an open mind as they shall eventually become metaphorical to the premise which follows. It is apparent that all things have magnetism about them.
Hopeful Thinking: It’s important to care for your feelings

2 months ago | sentinelandenterprise.com | Wil Darcangelo

Your feelings are a real thing, let’s be clear. They have power and influence of their own. They are, in fact, the navigator of our entire lives. Our feelings are what guide us in the decisions we make and the forgiveness we feel. Feelings are the unadulterated language of God. What your feelings manage to accomplish on a day-to-day basis depends on how well you care for them. Our culture has twisted the idea of altruism into something that excludes us from the equation of serving others.
Hopeful Thinking: A Unitarian Universalist view of Easter and more

2 months ago | sentinelandenterprise.com | Wil Darcangelo

I begin by saying there is no one single view of Easter. Not among my tradition of Unitarian Universalism, nor among any individual human being. Even those who belong to very specific Christian religious traditions with precisely worded articles of faith literally written in stone, there will always exist a variance of religious opinion. Your neighbor does not think exactly as you do.
Hopeful Thinking: Make bold and exceptional use of adversity

2 months ago | sentinelandenterprise.com | Wil Darcangelo

A thought regularly occurs to me that a cell often mutates to its advantage when forced by outside circumstances. If I understand it correctly, mutations occur when life is exposed to a drastic change of situation. Right down to the cellular level we adapt to adversity through the act of mutation. I’m sure it will please many fans of the Marvel Universe to know we are all to become mutants now. They say a kick in the ass is good for the soul.