Rev. Caitlin Cotter Coillberg
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revcaitlin.bsky.social
Rev. Caitlin Cotter Coillberg
@revcaitlin.bsky.social
610 followers 200 following 130 posts
Parent. Unitarian Universalist Minister and Religious Educator. Appalachian American. Neuroqueer. Femme. Big fan of the Civilian Conservation Corps. She/her/hers
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revcaitlin.bsky.social
I will be so sad when we get past the age when "Mama I'm scared" can be cured with night lights, fairy dust, and "okay here's three Jedi and a wookie to keep you safe".

I wish this was enough to have all of us sleeping easy.
Image of a child's bedroom with dark blue starry ceiling, dragon mobile, planet wall stickers, and blue curtains. You can just see the fuzzy shape of a child drinking water. In focus at the foot of the bed are small figurines of Yoda, Obi-won, Luke, and Chewbacca looking ready to defend the occupant.
February 25, 2025 at 1:21 AM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
Eldest asked for a tea party today so I took them to the grocery to pick out a few special things and then invited my parents over. Gotta do more cucumber sandwiches this summer. Also more tea parties, because we have to keep being intentional about joy.
Image of table covered in green tablecloth. Table is covered in plates of cucumber sandwiches, small cakes and cookies, toasted English muffins, with glasses of pink juice. The hand of a small pale skinned toddler is grabbing a small cake and you can see the arm of an outdoorsy retiree in a green shirt.
February 23, 2025 at 9:28 PM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
I was out of the office preaching at a local retirement community today so stopped at a coffee shop to get some computer tasks done before heading home. Holy moly was it cool to talk about how we can draw from the wisdom of the civil rights movement with folks who were involved and active in that!
Image of a gorgeous matcha latte on a wooden table with an open laptop and a plate with a free sample of almond anise biscotti behind.
February 20, 2025 at 8:26 PM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
Thinking about @altnps.bsky.social and all those who have been inspired, healed, awed, entertained, and connected by those who serve in our National Parks. My heart is with all our federal workers.
Image shows a hypermobile white lady hand holding a toy Park Ranger pickup truck in front of a bunch of other toy vehicles parked between masking tape on the floor.
February 16, 2025 at 9:39 PM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
Update now we are playing with tape. I love all that children make space for.
Image shows tiny parking lot made of yellow tape in front of electric fireplace. Parked in spots are tiny recycling truck, dump truck, double decker bus, VW bug and bus, jeep, spiderman car, grogu car, cupcake car, front loading backhoe, and a frog.
February 16, 2025 at 9:27 PM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
About to invite my children to a living room tea party, because we make our own joy and there's no reason to keep Grandma's teapot and tablecloth in the hutch forever. Hurray for peppermint tisane and whatever cookies I can find in the cabinets!

What are you doing to make joy this weekend?
Image shows a child size teal table covered in a green striped tablecloth with a whale stool and small purple chair in frame. Behind the table is an electric fireplace, toy firetruck, and triceratops bouncy toy (which ended up being my spouse's tea party chair) tucked away beyond it. On the table is a teapot and small pottery cups from the Pigeon Forge pottery that used to belong to my grandmother, white napkins with lace detail that belonged to my spouse's grandmother, and a peter rabbit bowl filled with random small cookies.
February 16, 2025 at 8:55 PM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
I finished painting my owls! Remember to do things for the joy of doing them. Joy is resistance.

(Of course also call your elected officials).
Image shows seven wooden owls perched on a white window frame in front of a dark window. The owls have been painted but not sealed yet (gotta wait for spring and do that outside). From left to right, red owl with Bryn Mawr lantern on its stomach and labrys wings (because we refuse to let the TERFs have that symbol), copper orange art nouveau owl, yellow owl with pink triangle on it's brow, progress pride flag on its stomach, and lavender lambda feathers, green owl with moon on brow and tree of life on tummy, light blue owl with rainbow feathers, daisy flower crown, fencing weapon wings, and a Bryn Mawr lantern tummy, indigo owl covered in stars with a spiral galaxy tummy, and a purple owl with a chalice tummy and the UUA's symbol as its feathers.
February 16, 2025 at 7:43 PM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
I know we are all feeling a bit like my favorite Leia action figure here. So I hope it is somehow reassuring to you that right after I took this snapshot yesterday a breeze knocked Darth into a yard waste bin.

#ToyPhotography #TenMinuteJoyBreak #MumsWithHobbies
In the midst of an evening snowfall, a six inch action figure of Darth Vader stands center frame atop a tall wooden privacy fence. Backed against the fencepost, an action figure of Leia Organa in Hoth ready snow gear glares at him defiantly. You can tell, if you look closely, that Darth is off balance and about to fall.
February 12, 2025 at 1:49 PM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
Finished painting this just in time for Superb Owl Sundae! Hope you found some sweetness this weekend.
Wooden owl painted autistic golden yellow, with the progress pride flag on its stomach, magenta triangle on top of its head, rainbow and lavender arround the eyes and the lambda symbol as feathers. Held in front of painting supplies and a flaming chalice window cling.
February 9, 2025 at 11:08 PM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
For logistics reasons related to the ongoing construction project on our campus, we had to leave up the congregation's Christmas tree. So we've creatively maladjusted it.

This week in honor of the upcoming February holiday of love (and the UUA's 30 days of love) we added a bunch of hearts.
Large 20 ft artificial Christmas tree covered in protest signs and various pride hearts sits at the corner of a church sanctuary next to a quilt of trees in winter.
February 5, 2025 at 8:17 PM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
Gonna be talking about the anti fascist history of the flaming chalice on Sunday, a fabulous excuse to drag out all of the chalices I can find.
A small table in front of the pulpit covered in various chalices used in worship or children's ministry. Chalices are in a wide array of sizes and materials, including glass, pottery, wood, metal, and Lego. Behind the pulpit is a quilted image of a flaming chalice, which is the symbol of Unitarian Universalism.
February 5, 2025 at 8:10 PM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
My disabled body isn't at a protest today, but my mind and heart are with our federal workers and the vital infrastructures they tend.

(Photo from 2019, I would do this very differently now, fat phobia has no place in our resistance)
Photo of Star Wars action figures holding little protest signs in front of the white house that say things like "hate will not make us great" and "resist".
February 3, 2025 at 2:47 PM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
Just a reminder that whimsy, joy, and playfulness are important spiritual practices and tools to help manage our own fear reactions. Tend the children and your own inner kid!

(I've started doing some delightfully amateur Lego photography in spare moments).
Image is a black and white snapshot of a Lego minifig of Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa in a star wars ugly sweater. The minifig is holding a Lego coffee mug and posed for a stroll through the snow on the top edge of a botanical garden bench.
January 26, 2025 at 3:38 AM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
What kind of day is it for you today?

It's a snow day with two small kids after two weeks without childcare, so I'm definitely drinking hot chocolate today.
Hand holds a "today is a chocolate kind of day" mug in front of a window. Through the sheer curtains you can see a snowplow and trees and parked cars covered in snow.
January 6, 2025 at 5:06 PM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
It's certainly snowing here today. What do you hope for in a snow day? Do you have fond snow day memories?
Image shows the pane of a window with window clings of snowflakes and a penguin and snowman arranged so they seem to be having a lightsaber fight. The trees, parked cars, and road in the background are all covered in several inches of snow.
January 6, 2025 at 4:48 PM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
Anyone else taking the line "don we now our gay apparel" as literally as possible? (I was looking for snowflake earrings but decided these were seasonal).
December 8, 2024 at 10:19 PM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
From our Unitarian Universalist Faithify fundraising platform...

Just launched - Emergency grants to people fleeing legislative and state violence. Gratitude to Pink Haven Coalition for this vital work. Find the campaign on Faithify.

#UnitarianUniversalist #UU #LoveAtTheCenter
Image shows hands forming heart in from of trans flags at a rally
November 26, 2024 at 3:38 PM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
(It's the Bavarian Tree Hunting Hat I inherited from my maternal grandfather, if you wondered where I found hope today).

(Indeed, hope is not a thing with feathers but an orange sticker left in a Tirolerhut after a wonder story about a community coming together to recover from despair)
Image shows me smiling at the camera wearing a Tyrolean hat and sunglasses, in the background is my spouse and parents pulling two sleds. One sled has a big Christmas tree the other two toddlers in purple winter coats.
November 23, 2024 at 7:00 PM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
Look what I found in my hat!

#StorytellerProblems

(Butterflies Under Their Hats is one of my favorite folktales so all my best structured hats have glitter and stickers in them now)
Image shows an orange sticker with the word hope written on it with silver sharpie and done glitter inside a Tyrolean hat.
November 23, 2024 at 6:23 PM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
Am I good at toy photography? I don't care, it's fun. It's a thing I do because I like doing it.
Image shows a six inch Darth Vader clumsily holding a normal size fork like he's going to steal the last of my hojicha cheesecake. I'm the background is a mug of chai.
November 21, 2024 at 11:51 PM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
Darth's favorite piece in the impressionism special exhibit was this etching by Ludovic-Napoléon Lepic.
November 21, 2024 at 11:46 PM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
One of the things I committed to when I started on the path to professional ministry was whimsy as a spiritual practice. I'm also determined to do things just because I enjoy them. Anyway, today was my birthday and I took a Darth Vader action figure to the National Gallery of Art.

#ToyPhotography
Photo shows a six inch Darth Vader action figure perched on top of a museum bench looking at a 19th century French painting of a woman on a cliff.
November 21, 2024 at 11:42 PM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
Continuing this centering practice with the tiny level. It continues to be a fantastic spiritual practice for me.

I can tell I'm tired though because I started daydreaming of a workshop where I just put out a bunch of tools and ask people to use them contemplatively and make up prayers.
November 21, 2024 at 11:36 PM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
#UnitarianUniversalism #TransRightsAreHumanRights
We unapologetically reject and effort to erase teacher people. We affirm the inherent worth, dignity, and humanity of our trans siblings. Written on a background the colors of the trans flag with the Unitarian Universalist Association logo in the corner.
November 20, 2024 at 8:37 PM
revcaitlin.bsky.social
My dad handed me this tiny level today (it came with a set of new shelves for all my parents Penzey's spices), and I'm finding it a surprisingly meditative object. What's keeping you level this week? What spiritual practice tools and/or fidgets are in your pocket?

#TinyBitButch #ClergyQuestions
Photo of hand holding itty bitty pocket sized levelling tool in front of extremely messy ministers desk. The sleeve of my favorite green sweater and my "black lives matter" and "all of us need all of us to make it" bracelets are also in the shot. You can see my hypermobility in the bend of my fingers.
November 20, 2024 at 6:33 PM